Talking Memory
Primary Investigators:
Teaching Curator, Ashmolean Museum
DPhil Student
School of Archaeology
Partner Organisations:
Ashmolean PER Research Associates:
DPhil student
Public Engagement Officer
DPhil student
About the project:
Early-career researchers from the University of Oxford were digging out the memories of objects at the Ashmolean Museum to bring to the fore the memories of some of our older visitors. Talking Memory connected the role of museums as repositories of memories with their role as spaces of social care. By examining the theme of memory with an interdisciplinary cohort early-career researchers, the Ashmolean PER Associates, and older adults, Talking Memory offered an opportunity to foster meaningful encounters between current Oxford research, museum collections, and the public.
Applying their diverse expertise to the Museum's collections, the Ashmolean PER Associates were deliver a series of public events to be held in the Summer of 2022. At each, our guests were hear new research, relax over tea, remembered their own narratives, were creative, and made new memories. The event was a combination of gallery talks, informal discussions, and art projects is designed to promote mental wellbeing among one of the Ashmolean’s most important audiences. The aim was to spark conversation, imagination, and community, making a visit to the Museum an opportunity to be sociable, thoughtful, and creative. With each event, the Talking Memory team used the Museum to show how the past, both material and immaterial, can be a powerful aid to wellbeing in the present.
Talking Memory was a series of afternoon events for older visitors (aged 65+) that explored the theme of memory through objects from the museum's collections, current research from the University of Oxford, and creative activities. Each workshop began in the museum's public galleries with a short talk and discussion centred on a single object, led by an Oxford researcher, before participants took part in a creative engagement session inspired by the theme.
Contact:
Jim Harris
or
Alexis Gorby
Talking Memory has received the additional support from the Wellcome’s institutional Strategic Support Fund as part of Oxford’s PER Seed Fund.
