Three sessions: September 11, 18, 25, 2024
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM PT / 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM ET on Zoom


As custodians of media and culture collections, we must grapple with the complexities of who we are as facilitators of this material, and how to preserve, digitize, archive and share the stories that we, our staff and our communities create. Which narratives risk fading into obscurity if they are not protected and prioritized? How is this material currently made available, and how might we plan to safely, creatively and ethically co-create access to it for our communities now and audiences in the future?

The Multimedia Archival Storytelling Lab is an opportunity to address these questions and discover ways to give new meaning and create new access to archival media that might be sitting online or on drives somewhere. We’ll consider numerous ways of reimagining our relationship with our own stories and our accountability to our communities.

If you have archival content to which you would like to give new meaning – through a remix video project, a multimedia installation, an anniversary compilation, a book, live performance, or other hybrid format – the Lab will help you consider tangible ways of reimagining your archives. GRAMMY Award-nominated Producer Jocelyn Arem uses a dynamic style to teach participants how to engage and activate archival content with their own unique creative perspectives. Participants in the Lab will also explore strategies to empower media makers and archival stewards as they learn to preserve, contextualize, and amplify the voices and stories within their collections.

The Lab consists of three 90-minute workshop sessions that will include:

    • PRESENTATIONS from Digital Archivists, Creative Technologists and Documentary Filmmakers
    • DISCUSSIONS of best and emerging practices in the field of Archival Production and Curation
    • BREAKOUTS for participants to share their archival challenges and brainstorm ideas with experts
    • COLLABORATIVE WORK to experiment with new platforms, strategize the transformation of archival material into multimedia creative projects and experiences, generating new ideas to revitalize stories, add revenue streams, and deepen community connections

Who Should Attend: Any nonprofit organization, independent filmmaker or photographer with a desire to explore archival production and curation. You should have a clear sense of the rights ownership to the collection of digital media you are holding. Invited Participants will receive a $500 stipend for full participation in all three sessions. At the culmination of the Lab, participants will be required to provide a one-page written description of their collection, a summary of the most compelling idea that emerged, and up to 4 sample images and/or clips for a final report.