Who are we?

Background of Living Archive
Milton Keynes fifty miles north of London is the United Kingdom's fastest growing new town. Change has been a way of life for more than 40 years. A rural population has watched its old landmarks disappear. Newcomers have left their family and friendship support networks behind as they have moved to brand-new housing estates.

How do you help the old-time residents retain pride in their lives and histories that seem to be being destroyed in the name of progress? How do you give the new arrivals the experience of coming into a place which has a past as well as a future? These were the challenges which led to the establishment of Living Archive. It is a creative cultural and community development organisation whose Documentary Arts work is inspired by people's memories. It has developed its activities over the last 35 years and was formally established in 1984.

Using local lives and events as their starting point, 11 large-scale musical documentary plays, 20 books of local reminiscence, photographic and other exhibitions, films, CD-ROM's, radio and video documentaries, sculpture events and community textile projects have been produced. Local people of all ages and backgrounds have been actively involved in all stages of this work - in interviewing, research, in writing, performing, creating songs and music, sewing textiles, making costumes and stage props, organising exhibitions and editing books.

Origins of Living Archive
Living Archive had its origins in the work of two individuals who were developing two quite separate fields of activity. Since 1974, Roy Nevitt, Director of Drama at Stantonbury Campus, with colleagues and members of the community drama group he created, worked to devise and direct large-scale local documentary plays and documentary-based school curriculum materials.

Simultaneously, as a community worker with Milton Keynes Development Corporation, Roger Kitchen, was collecting the oral reminiscences of people whose lives were being changed by the influx of newcomers to the place where they lived. These reminiscences were transformed into radio documentaries and, by means of a community publishing venture, into books.

This work aroused considerable interest in Milton Keynes and elsewhere. Others believed that what was being achieved in Milton Keynes could be achieved in other communities. This led to the foundation, in January 1984, of "The Living Archive Project", now known as Living Archive.

The Living Archive Project was established to achieve two purposes:

- to explore and extend the documentary arts work being done in Milton Keynes;
- to encourage, train and support others wishing to do similar work elsewhere.

Maggie Nevitt was appointed as its first part-time Development Officer, Roy Nevitt and Roger Kitchen as volunteer Co-Directors. During this time Roy Nevitt continued as Director of Drama at Stantonbury and Roger Kitchen was the Project Director of Inter-Action Milton Keynes, so each had only their spare time to contribute to the Project.

In its early days Living Archive was based in an office at Stantonbury Campus. In January 1992 Roger Kitchen became the full time General Manager, and in March 1992 the project moved to an empty shop in Wolverton before taking up residence in its current location, the Old Bath House in Wolverton. Roger resigned as General Manager in April 2003 to work as a freelance.

Living Archive Today
The current Living Archive Business Plan 2006 - 2009 has the following aims and objectives;

2.1 Developing our multi-media archive to meet the demands of Milton Keynes City’s expansion

Living Archive has amassed a unique multi-media archive collection over the last three decades, but it is largely uncatalogued and with limited availability for public use. We wish to share it with the widest audience possible from children to academic researchers, from established residents to city newcomers, no matter what the ethnicity, age, gender, culture or capability. Our prime aim is to develop our archive so that it is fully catalogued and digitised - easily accessible, comprehensively referenced, and continually supplemented by new material as the city grows: in short, we will create and develop the new Community Archive, Milton Keynes.

2.2 Developing collaboration and sense of community in both established and new communities in the city

We wish to capitalise on the successful artistic, educational and heritage activities we have experienced over the last three decades, through collaborations with, and between, the citizens of Milton Keynes. Our second aim is therefore to encourage collaboration and a strong sense of community in the citizens of Milton Keynes both established and new communities - by enabling them to use, and be stimulated by, the ongoing Community Archive, Milton Keynes. This will be effected by their accessing and utilising, recording and contributing, celebrating and creatively sharing, the history of the lives and events that have shaped and continue to shape Milton Keynes.

2.3 Developing a widespread pride in our city as it expands over the next 30 years:

Living Archive’s work can help social cohesion and community engagement in rapidly expanding urban areas where institutions take time to embed themselves in the ethos of the community. We wish to optimise the profile of the city of Milton Keynes and of the talents, experiences and achievements of its citizens. Our third aim therefore is to use the Community Archive, Milton Keynes to help further develop a strong sense of pride in our city by sharing our values, skills and experience in Documentary Arts work across Milton Keynes through encouragement, facilitation, training and support.

Staff

Chair of Board of Trustees - Tim Hill
Tim joined Living Archive as Chair in 2001. Before joining us he was the Chief Superintendent of Milton Keynes Police, and Founder Chief Executive of Milton Keynes Community Foundation.

Project Co-ordinator - Melanie Jeavons
Mel joined Living Archive in 2001. She is now Project Co-ordinator, currently working on The History of Football in Milton Keynes and the Discover Milton Keynes showcase unit. She is also responsible for all the training projects.

Administrator - Zena Flinn
Zena joined Living Archive in 1994. She first came into contact with the project in 1992 when she volunteered to help interview and transcribe for the 'Worker By Name' Stony Stratford play. Zena is also responsible for the administration of the Old Bath House Community Centre where Living Archive is based.

Community Heritage Officer, Bletchley - Herbert Booth
The Bletchley Community Heritage Initiative has been running for 7 years and is funded by Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council. Herbert Booth runs the project, with the help of a dedicated group of volunteers, from Bletchley Library where he can be found all day on Tuesdays and on Thursday and Friday mornings.

Artistic Director of the Young People's Film Workshop - Chris Bradley
The Young people's Film Workshop has been running for 10 years. Prior to taking up his present post a year ago, Chris had worked on a number of films with Living Archive including the award winning "Seeking" and "Darkness Visible". He brings with him, vast experience of professional film making.".

Administrator of the Young People's Film Workshop - Jane Jeavons
Jane joined Living Archive as Film Workshop Administrator in May 2001. She brought to the job a wide experience of working in the voluntary sector in Milton Keynes, including time as a worker with MKDASS (Milton Keynes Drug and Alcohol Support Services). She is also a Family Mediator with Relate.

Technician - Leon Russell
Leon joined Living Archive in 2001 as a volunteer, he then took up full-time employment as the Technician in 2002. He has a number of technical qualifications related to I.T. skills and electrical safety and is responsible for the day to day maintenance and updating of all equipment. He maintains this web site.

Archivist - Eve Watson
Eve took up the position of Living Archive’s first Archivist in April 2008 with a remit to oversee cataloguing/ digitisation of the diverse strands that comprise Living Archive’s unique collections. An experienced archivist, with an MA in archiving, she has previously worked, among others for the bfi National Archive and the British Universities Film and Television Council, based at ITN Source.