"Is the collection the memory?": Bicentenaries, memories, and archives

In celebration of UCL's 200th anniversary, UCL Special Collections and artist Simon Farid explore different kinds of collective memory. This workshop of two halves will firstly invite participants to reflect on how institutional memories are created - and forgotten - and who collaborates in this process. Then using their own digital and physical material, participants will make a creative response which encapsulates their personal past, present, or future feelings about UCL.

Just to be clear – these creative responses will not be accessioned into Special Collections, but we hope this workshop will encourage careful thought and discussion around how institutional collections reflect (or can’t fully reflect) their parent organisation. We’re also aiming to empower participants by encouraging them to create their own histories and reflections – please bring your own material, personal reflections, and approaches to this workshop if you wish!

Material from UCL Special Collections will be on display throughout for participants to consider, learn about and reflect upon.

If you haven't been involved in any of UCL's 200th anniversary celebrations so far, we would absolutely love for you to attend this workshop and bring any reflections or memories about your relationship with UCL. You don't need to have studied here, and we'll actively be considering how institutional history is shaped by communities of all kinds!

This event will be held in UCL East's Marshgate building (Culture Lab). UCL East is our new campus in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and continues UCL's spirit of discovering, co-creating and sharing new knowledge for the benefit of all.

Please note that booking is required for this event due to the limited number of spaces available.

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