Category:Toys in the Community (oral history project)

Toys in the Community project logo [image info]

A5 flyer for the initial recruiting meeting for volunteers and interviewees, 9th July 2014 [image info]

Buddy Bear, being interviewed. Interviews are normally recorded as both audio and video [image info]

A volunteer being trained in the art of video editing [image info]

Preparing the reminiscence boxes for an off-site outreach session (blind veterans) [image info]

Artwork for the project's video recordings [image info]

Buddy Bear and Archie visit their cousins in the wild [image info]

"Toys in the Community: Valuing Memories of dolls, teddy bears and construction toys" is a two-year oral history project run by Brighton Toy and Model Museum, supported by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The first meeting for prospective volunteers and interviewees was held on Wednesday 9th July 2014, and the project is running from 2014 to 2016.

Project goals

The two-year "Toys in the Community" project's tasks include:

Interviewing local people and recording their recollections of dolls, teddybears and construction toys.
Transcribing the recordings and using the material as the basis of a website, a book, and a touring exhibition to visit local venues.
Community outreach sessions to enable people to share their memories of toys, and to handle examples of dolls, teddy bears and construction toys from a range of time periods.

Volunteer activities

Volunteers involved in the project are learning new skills, including interviewing, and photographic and videoing skills. They will also help to curate the touring exhibition.

By interviewing people of all ages and backgrounds, the project will help to create links between different members of the local community through the sharing of memories.

Update, March 2015

As of March 2015, all interviews have now taken place, and the project team are busy completing the first stage of the project (finalising transcripts and Stage One paperwork, and doing preliminary graphics and video work) in preparation for Stage Two, which will involve producing finalised text and video and publishing the finished material on a dedicated website and book.