Hybrid Volunteering: A New Approach to Photographic Collections
Date: Thursday, July 20th
Location: National Museums Scotland/Online

As part of the  AHRC funded research project Communities and Crowds – National Musuems Scotland in partnership with PCN are holding an online workshop on the 20 July, which looks at a new approach to volunteer led digitation which leads to volunteer created citizen science platforms. We’ll be sharing what we have done to date – and welcoming input from volunteers, scholars, museum professionals and other cultural heritage institutions that are interested in applying this approach to their own work and/or collections

Summary: Volunteering with heritage collections is often separated between in person opportunities to work with GLAM institutions, or as massive online participation activities - such as platforms for crowdsourced research. This hybrid conference will bring together heritage professionals, volunteers, and digital humanities scholars to explore how we can combine in person and online volunteering with GLAM collections to make for a richer and more engaged volunteering opportunity. The workshop will share initial results from the AHRC funded Communities and Crowds research project, which has created a new volunteer-led digitization to participatory research process for photographic collections. It will also invite GLAM professionals, in-person and remote volunteers to help us explore the next steps for expanding this approach to other collections and projects. 

Programme

9:30-9:45 - Communities and Crowds: An overview and Introduction (Geoff Belknap, Keeper of Science and Technology, National Museums Scotland)

9:45-10:30 - A New Volunteer led Digitization approach (Alex Fitzpatrick, Research Associate, National Science and Media Museum)

10:30-10:45 - Break

10:45-11:30 - Digital Volunteering and New Talk Infrastructure (Sam Blickhan, Humanities Lead for Zooniverse and Co-Director of the Zooniverse team at Chicago's Adler Planetarium)

11:30-12:00 - Group trial of How did we get here (Volunteer Created Zooniverse Project - National Science and Media Museum)

12:00-1:30 - Lunch

1:30-2:00 - Exploring Histories of Community in the Archives: Perspectives from Project Volunteers (Sandra Rowe, Maureen Rowe, Lincoln Anderson, Rebecca Smith)

2:00-2:30 - Unlocking the Potential of Virtual Volunteering (Matt Hicks, Head of Volunteering, Science Museum Group)

2:30-3:00 - Building an easy-to-use App and designing efficient data workflows tailored for volunteering collections projects (Lawrence Brooks, Collections and Data Manager, Science Museum Group)
 
3:00-3:30 - Break
 
3:30-4:30 - Workshop Open Discussion - Photographic Collections Network Facilitated
Applying this approach to your photographic collection?
What should a Holistic Hybrid Volunteering Toolkit look like/include?
 
4:30-5:00 - Discussion and Next Steps

You can attend in person on online, if you are interested in attending, please email: p.carr@nms.ac.uk

What are photographs 'doing' in museums? Why are some photographs valued and others not? Why are some photographic practices visible and not others? What value systems and hierarchies do they reflect?

Talk by Elizabeth Edwards and Ella Ravilious explores how museums are defined through their photographic practices. It focuses not on formal collections of photographs as accessioned objects, be they 'fine art' or 'archival', but on what might be termed 'non-collections': the huge number of photographs that are integral to the workings of museums yet 'invisible', existing outside the structures of 'the collection'. These photographs, however, raise complex and ambiguous questions about the ways in which such accumulations of photographs create the values, hierarchies, histories and knowledge-systems, through multiple, folded and overlapping layers that might be described as the museum's ecosystem.

These photographic dynamics are studied through the prism of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, an institution with over 150 years' engagement with photography's multifaceted uses and existences in the museum. The book differs from more usual approaches to museum studies in that it presents not only formal essays but short 'auto-ethnographic' interventions from museum practitioners, from studio photographers and image managers to conservators and non-photographic curators, who address the significance of both historical and contemporary practices of photography in their work. As such this book offers an extensive and unique range of accounts of what photographs 'do' in museums, expanding the critical discourse of both photography and museums.

This talk coincides with the new V&A book What Photographs Do written by Elizabeth Edwards and edited by Ella Ravilious.

Tickets by donation

The aim of this seminar on 20 January, is to share ideas and promote conversation about how we make (photo) collections and archives more representational and diverse, how we ensure that those who are included in collections have access to them, how we can enable that collections and archives are more inclusive. There are great projects happening all over the UK and we invite some of them to speak and share their experiences. This event recognises the hard work that archives and institutions do in difficult times of job and budget cuts, and questions how can we work together with communities to create and support more representational, diverse, and inclusive practices. 

The day will feature panel discussions to explore important questions such as:  What are the barriers to the wider public accessing and engaging with regional and national archives? What can we do to make collections and archives more inclusive? How do we encourage more diverse stories to be recorded and shared? And, how can we work together to be better?

Seminar speakers include the inspirational projects of; Apna Heritage Archive, Museum of Youth Culture, Nottingham Black Archives, and Historical Photos of China. See below for more info about these projects.

From this event we want to create a working group to meet regularly to discuss these topics and move the conversation forward. We welcome projects, organisations and cultural leaders to reach out and join in the conversation, please get in touch if you have a project or ideas to share.

Projects & Speakers:

Apna Heritage Archive

Apna Heritage Archive, in Wolverhampton is led by Black Country Visual Arts (BCVA) who received a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2016 to fund the project. Over a period of two years (2016-2018) BCVA brought together a collection of over 2000 historic photographs and memorabilia relating to Punjabi migration to Wolverhampton from 1960 to 1989 and curated a very popular exhibition (Jan2018-March2018) at Wolverhampton Art Gallery which was extended by the City Council. Anand Chhabra Director of BCVA initiated and found the relevant project partners with a focus on ‘city wide agglomeration’ on the project which includes: Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara, St Luke’s Primary School, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Wolverhampton City Archives and the University of Wolverhampton.  75 present day portraits from within the Punjabi community were created by two photographers. The collection is housed in a dedicated archive space at the Guru Teg Bahadur Gurdwara in Upper Villiers Street, Blakenhall, Wolverhampton and will remain for a period of 5 years. A digital collection of the archive will be provided to Wolverhampton City Archives so that future generations will have access to the archive. This original project has led to school resources and further exhibitions and projects.

Speaker, Anand Chhabra is a founder, director and the incumbent Chair at Black Country Visual Arts and has been involved in the arts as a photographer for over 20 years. He began a full time career as artist beginning as Wolverhampton’s recipient of the ‘Collide’ programme in 2005. Anand as Director at Black Country Visual Arts since it was founded in 2014 has initiated all their projects single-handedly including finding partners, writing proposals and sourcing funding for their projects up to date which include Exodus : Movement of a People, Desi Pubs and Apna Heritage Archive. Anand initiated and profiled the AHA project to Community Archives and Heritage Group winning the award for best New Archive in the UK in 2017. Anand continues to work on photographic projects that profiles stories in ethnic communities that remain untold. At the heart of Anand’s work is people and the stories that they share. He recently received a British Council grant to conduct research around the family album and present on Punjabi migration in India with considerable success presenting at India’s major institutions Dr Bhau Daji Lad in Mumbai and Punjab Lalit Kala Akademie in Chandigarh. Anand continues to work on various photographic commissions and on exhibitions. In 2018 Anand was shortlisted for Magnum Foundation’s Photography in Collaboration : Migration and Religion and has been nominated for Prix Pictet 2019 for his work SUPNAA : Dreams of our Fathers.

Historical Photos of China

Based at the University of Bristol, the 'Historical Photographs of China' project began work in 2006. It grew from being the subject of a ‘Dissemination award’ to Robert Bickers, as PI on an Arts & Humanities Research Council funded project on the 'History of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service'. It developed into an initiative that searched for material far beyond descendants of the staff of the Customs Service. Initially, support for publication online was provided by generous collaborators at the Institut d’Asie Orientale, Lyon. But 2017 saw the launch of the current platform, now wholly based at the University of Bristol, and designed and maintained by the University.

The project locates, digitises, and publishes online photographs of China held, largely, in private hands outside the country. Our aim is to help make this virtual photographic archive of modern China publicly available, open access, which we do under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (CC BY_NC_ND 4.0). This licence means that the low resolution images published on the platform are protected protected by Copyright Law and are not for commercial use in any form or any medium without the owner’s permission. Download, transmission, or print, for research or educational purposes, is permitted, providing that the provenance is acknowledged.

The project has in this way brought over 20,000 photographs into the public domain which would otherwise not be discoverable, and provides archive standard long-term preservation for them, and for a further c.30,000 images that have been digitised and preserved, but not published online.

Museum of Youth Culture

The Museum of Youth Culture is an emerging museum celebrating the everyday lives of teenagers in Britain. The museum was founded from the photographic collection YOUTH CLUB Archive, and has a collection of both professional and vernacular photographs. The Grown up in Britain campaign works to collect a history of youth culture through family photographs. The museum works to place young people at the heart of our social history.

Speaker, Lisa der Weduwe joined the Museum of Youth Culture in 2016. Initially supporting the Museum's first National Lottery Heritage Funded project, Lisa has led public outreach, education and volunteer projects over the last 4 years, activating the archive by championing accessibility and diversity within the collections. 

Nottingham Black Archives

Nottingham Black Archive (NBA) the idea for a resource that made Nottingham black history available to the wider public came about in 2009 and in 2010 the Nottingham Black Archive was founded. The aim of the archive is to research, collect and preserve Black history, heritage and culture in Nottingham, from the earliest time to the present day. The collection holds some of the earliest documents relating to the formation of Black community organisations in Nottingham, as well as, a growing archive of oral histories, including many from the  first generation of Africans and Caribbean’s to reside in Nottingham. The archive also holds photographs, articles, newsletters, books and political letters dating back to the 1940s.

Nottingham Black Archive is dedicated to collecting, preserving and celebrating the histories of people of African descent in Nottingham. The NBA programme of exhibitions and events provide a platform from which to share the diversity of cultures originating from Africa and the Caribbean, past and present. The collection promotes the teaching, learning and understanding of African Caribbean peoples’ contribution to Nottingham and provides an accessible permanent record of the richness of the Black experience in Nottingham.

Speaker, Panya Banjoko (founder of NBA) has over twenty years of experience working in the heritage sector for a number of museums around the country. She has worked as Learning and Engagement Project Worker, outreach worker, managed a number of heritage projects and regularly develops Museum’s Loans Boxes. She has an MA in Museum Studies achieved at the University of Leicester.

PRESERVATION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS SESSION 1: UNDERSTANDING PHOTOGRAPHS

Online training session
Tuesday 6 December 2022 1-2.45pm COURSE LEADER: ANITA BOOLS ACR

Who is this session for?

This session aims to provide an understanding of traditional photographs i.e. those produced by chemical, rather than digital means. It is about the nature of photographs - what makes them special but can also bring challenges in caring for them.
The session is aimed at participants who work with collections of photographs. Some participants may have little knowledge of photographs prior to this session but have photographs within their collections. Others may have much deeper experience with photography collections but wish to improve their knowledge and understanding of photographic materials to facilitate long-term preservation.

Learning Objective

To gain an understanding of photographs and the materials from which they are made, in order to apply conservation principles and techniques to help preserve collections.
Learning Outcomes

- Begin to understand the multi-faceted nature of photographs
- Recognise how the development of early photography led to the use of different materials, formats, presentation and purpose.
- Understand that these differences often affect their condition, and the steps necessary for their preservation.
 
Teaching and Learning Methods

A range of techniques will be utilised to promote learning and cater for different learning styles. This will include viewing and learning about examples on screen, discussion, demonstrations and following practical activities. Active participation is encouraged in order to maximise learning from this session.

About the Tutor

Anita Bools ACR is the National Trust’s Senior National Conservator for Paper and Photography, a highly experienced photographic materials professional, lecturer and teacher. She was a founding committee member and chair (2009 – 2013) of ICON Photographic Materials Conservation Group and formerly Senior Paper and Photographic Materials Conservator with the North-West Museums Service.
 
Anita has worked for the National Trust since 1995. She sets standards and guides the National Trust in caring for its extensive photographic collections as well as advising, training and supporting staff in caring for collections. As a photographic materials conservation consultant, Anita has worked across diverse organisations – from British Telecom to the Royal Opera House. In 2018 she was awarded a travel bursary from the Bei Shan Tang Foundation to attend and present a poster at the IIC – Palace Museum Beijing Symposium.  Anita took study leave in 2013 to obtain qualified teacher status from Reading University, subsequently teaching all national curriculum subjects part-time in primary schools. Earlier in 2022 Anita ran several sessions on caring for photographic materials for National Trust conservators and externally, for GLAM: Oxford University galleries, libraries and museums.

Course Requirements

It will be useful for participants to have the following at hand during the session:

- A photograph of their own (non-collection item). (This is for a handling exercise and can be of any type or size, or even a photograph cut from a magazine attached to card).
- Pencil and notebook for note-taking and/or a phone-camera  - to note any instructions on screen prior to activities.