Donate your lockdown memories
COVENTRY’S lockdown experience is set to be documented by the city’s archives - and it wants local people to play their part.
Coventry Archives is looking for materials created as part of the Covid-19 lockdown to document the experience of individuals in the city.
Materials can include photographs, videos, audio and diaries which show the everyday lives of individuals during lockdown, created from March to 30 June 2020.
We have seen some striking examples of residents taking it upon themselves to document this period in time.
From the 2021 Coventry sketchbook, to local photographers taking door step portraits, lockdown has helped showcase some real talent in the region.
Chosen items will be entered into the Coventry Archives collection, which is based at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, and will give an insight into life during lockdown for future generations.
Ruark Jon-stevens from the Coventry Archives said: “We are living in extraordinary times and lockdown will be something that everyone remembers for the rest of their lives and that is why we want to document the experiences of individuals for future generations.
“Materials can be diary entries, photographs you have taken, videos you have captured, information on making PPE or taking part in national events such as Clap for Carers - essentially anything you feel documents lockdown life.
“These difficult times have seen the local community come together to support the region’s most vulnerable and it has really highlighted the importance of us all coming together, which is something we are hoping to capture with the submissions.”
He added: “We hope the materials collected will enable us to build an in-depth view of how the people of Coventry have responded to lockdown. Please do get involved and help us document this incredibly important moment.”
The Archives team have recommended the following way of donating your material, so it can be recorded in the correct way.
If you can, give each file an individual name. Dates/time are automatically recorded when digital material is created. Coventry Archives also needs separate details for each item, including:
Geographical data - e.g. where it was captured [street name, area, or city]
E-mail the form to Victoria Northridge, Archivist Manager at covid19archive@culturecoventry.com together with the digital item[s].
Alternatively, when it reopens, you can post your digital material on a USB stick to Coventry Archives, Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Jordan Well, Coventry, CV1 5QP or bring to Coventry Archives in person during opening hours.
Please include a stamped addressed envelope if you wish your USB stick to be returned
Your material will be ingested into the archive for future researchers to listen/ view in a research room and online through a digital asset management system.
Names of individuals featured [where appropriate and consent given] Information about event Name of creator [who took the image, who the diary belonged to, etc.]