Community roots

A Community Narratives project by Window Seat Media

Community Roots

A community oral history project featuring local artists, activists, innovators, organizers, and change-makers with a special emphasis on stories and memories from elders who came to this community between 1965-1980.

Artists, activists, and organizers share the gift of creating beauty and belonging during times of turmoil and struggle and they can help us imagine what is possible in bold and urgent ways. What can we learn from those who have stewarded these traditions in our community?

Mission

Document “micro-histories” or oral histories about specific moments, organizing efforts, or projects that are important to our collective history in the South Sound.

Goals

Add to our community's own historical record, share wisdom from knowledge-holders within our community, and create opportunities for intergenerational conversations to tackle the challenges and imagine the possibilities of today.

What to expect

Participants will learn how to facilitate an audio recorded oral history interview(s) to become a part of the Window Seat Media Community Narratives archive. The interviews and curated projects produced by cohort members may be used as part of programming related to the project facilitated by Window Seat Media. As a community-based effort, we invite involvement in all aspects of the project - from conducting interviews and editing them into short audio stories, to community mapping, to the curation of community programming, and more.

Community Roots programming

Oral histories gathered as part of this project will be used to engage the community, including event series, artist talks, workshops, performances, exhibits, podcasts, and more. Collectively, we'll explore: What threads from the past are woven into how we organize and create, here in the South Sound today?

Community story stewards

At Window Seat Media, we value relationships, transparency, and trust. We consider ourselves stewards of other peoples’ stories and we never share a story without the person’s feedback and ongoing consent. We do not own the copyright to the stories gathered and consider them on loan to us by project participants.