THE LIVING MEMORY PROJECT (CIC)
We work with individuals, communities, and organisations across the UK to co-create and deliver participatory projects that celebrate people and place. Our work brings together diverse voices and perspectives, fostering connection, understanding, and pride in our communities while also ensuring that personal stories and cultural material are carefully recorded, preserved, and shared for the future.
We specialise in developing community archives through oral history, photography, and personal collections. Our approach balances professional archival standards with community-led values, ensuring collections remain accessible, meaningful, and rooted in the communities they come from.
We work with oral history practitioners, health and wellbeing specialists, photographers, artists, filmmakers, and community activists.
We produce public and community-specific events, exhibitions, publications, and films that bring collections to life and invite wider audiences to engage with them. We work collaboratively to celebrate lived experience, preserving memories, and building stronger, more connected communities.
OUR PROJECTS
Photography and Life Stories from across The Black Country
A four-year project celebrating and archiving life stories and personal photography collections. Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England, this project delivered 160 community events, workshops and sharing days, and produced 16 exhibitions across the region.
Our Commonwealth: The People of Sandwell
A project celebrating many extraordinary people from across Sandwell to mark the staging of The Commonwealth Games 2022. Using film, photography, oral history and performance, Our Commonwealth explores the lives of different people who support others and make our communities better places to live. Funded by Sandwell Council and Arts Council England.
A film commissioned by Historic England about the community of Stirchley in Birmingham, and how it has coped during the Covid-19 pandemic. Released in March 2021, the film is a snapshot of a strong and vibrant community committed to making Stirchley a better place for all.
The Living Memory Book Project
The Living Memory Book Project is an initiative that supports bereaved individuals. Through one-to-one and group sessions, we work closely with participants to co-create a bespoke Living Memory Book—a co-created professionally printed publication that tells the story of their loved one in their own words.
