Belfast Stories - Story Collection Audit
Appointed to undertake an audit of existing collections and story-related programmes, our goal was to understand the types of collections available in the city for Belfast Stories, a planned £100 million visitor destination designed to tell the stories of the people of Belfast.
View from the Belfast Stories site, within the old Bank of Ireland.
Stories of place are central to our collaborative approach, enabling us to listen and learn about people’s connections to their environments. We believe these stories can transcend language and cultural barriers, enhance a collective sense of community, and help define our identities.
We conducted an audit of first-person story collections relating to Belfast, resulting in a comprehensive catalogue of 100 story collections and projects. The majority of these are held by independent organisations in the community, voluntary, culture, arts, and heritage sectors. The research process involved:
Sector Mapping
We began by mapping the sector to identify the range of organisations and bodies involved in collecting stories.
Discovery Conversations
We held a series of conversations with stakeholders and experts, revealing a wide variety of specific collections to be audited. These discussions highlighted the depth of knowledge and insights from collection holders, community representatives, and subject matter experts.
Case Studies
Drawing on these conversations, we created four story collection case studies. Each case study emphasised important considerations for ongoing partnerships, including ethical issues, accessibility, representation, rights, and preservation of collections.
Our research categorised collections by sector, overarching themes, and content tags, providing a clear sense of the variety and context of story collections. This detailed categorization offered a comprehensive view of Belfast’s rich heritage of storytelling and oral history.
We provided several key recommendations to overcome challenges in the following areas:
• Ethical considerations, ensuring stories are collected and shared responsibly.
• Accessibility, making collections accessible to a wider audience.
• Representation, ensuring diverse voices are included and represented.
• Rights and preservation, protecting the rights of storytellers and preserving collections for future generations.
This audit represents a snapshot in time, laying the foundation for further research into Belfast’s storytelling and oral history heritage. Our findings and recommendations aim to support the development of Belfast Stories, ensuring it becomes a vibrant destination that authentically represents the people of Belfast and their rich tapestry of stories.
You can read the full report here
Client: Belfast Stories, Belfast City Council
Team: Amberlea Neely, Dr Conor McCafferty, Morag Stuart
Photo: Amberlea Neely