The Living Archive Toolkit
The Living Archive Toolkit is a free, public creative resource developed through community engagement, zine-making, and shared reflection. Step-by-step, it invites you to rethink what an archive can be — shifting it away from institutions and dusty documents, and towards bodies, relationships, emotions, and place. View the toolkit digitally below, and have a go at following it’s steps to archive your own story.
Prefer to use a hard copy? The toolkit is also available in person at REinsTate, libraries across Newham, selected reading rooms and archives.
The Living Archive Toolkit is not an academic or traditional archival guide. It is an accessible, art-led resource rooted in emotion, lived experience, and creative practice. It can be used by anyone interested in using zines to archive their lives, explore personal or collective histories, or experiment with alternative approaches to archiving — whether working alone or with others. The toolkit is especially relevant for cultural producers, educators, community organisers, and artists who want to engage with these ideas in participatory, inclusive ways.
Ioana Simion is available to activate the pedagogy and methodologies embedded in the toolkit through facilitated workshops and participatory sessions. To enquire, please contact info@artizine.uk.
Read more about the project, and about Ioana Simion here.