PRESERVING VANCOUVER’S PAST
Photograph and oral archive set up

Marta Zemojtel, volunteer Hope in Shadows archivist, looks at the 2007 Top 40 after the judges had chosen the top 40 in late June.

Each year, the HOPE IN SHADOWS calendar project results in the creation of thousands of photographs, interview transcripts, and other documents.

I have been working as a volunteer to start an archive of these materials to ensure their preservation for the future. The creation of an archive requires focuses on both physical preservation (providing a safe environment, housing, and handling), as well as intellectual preservation (writing inventories and histories to ensure the stories behind the records are not lost).

In working with the photographs I have often been struck by the diversity of experiences captured in the images, providing evidence of the life of the community which is rare among the histories typically preserved in the archives of governments and the media.

Already there are over 15,000 photographs in the HOPE IN SHADOWS Archive, and this year, we will begin to preserve the audio recordings of interviews with participants.

The photographs and oral records provide a unique glimpse into the lives and experiences of Downtown Eastside community members as told in their own words and seen through their eyes. These insights will provide valuable documentation for historians of Vancouver and of this rapidly changing neighbourhood.

Shaunna Moore is the archivist for the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. She has a master’s degree in archival studies from UBC, and two BAs in history and psychology.

This article is from the HOPE IN SHADOWS newsletter Snapshot. To downoad the pdf of Snapshot, click here (417 KB)