The Prisons Memory Archive: A Case Study in Filmed Memory of ConflictThe Prisons Memory Archive (PMA) explores ways that narratives of a conflicted past are filmed at the site of the experiences and later negotiated in a contested present in the North of Ireland. Given the state's failed attempts at establishing an official process for addressing the legacy of the conflict that lasted between 1968 and 1998, there are a number of community and academic initiatives that have taken up this task. The Prisons Memory Archive is one such project, whose aim is to research the possibilities of engaging with the story of the 'other' in a society that is emerging from decades of political violence. The PMA filmed back inside the prisons with those who passed through Armagh Gaol (2006) and the Maze and Long Kesh Prison (2007), which were both touchstone and tinderbox during the 30 years of violent conflict. We applied protocols of co-ownership, where participants become co-authors of their own story, with the right to withdraw up to the point of exhibition; inclusivity to ensure a multi-narrative archive with prison staff, prisoners, visitors, teachers, chaplains, etc.; and life-story telling, where leading questions are eschewed in order to return more agency to the participants. Currently, the full archive, made up of 160 walk-and-talk recordings totaling 300 hours of filmed material, is available at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, where it is preserved and made accessible to the public, and a website has been designed for educational use of the archive. This collection offers critical reflections on the processes of recording, archiving and utilising the archive in its several manifestations, e.g. feature films, website, and full archive at the Public Records Office. The perspectives offer a range of reflections, including filming, editing, archiving, web design, education, and museum practice. |
Contents
Personal | 13 |
Participant reflections | 27 |
Participant reflections | 41 |
Participant reflections | 53 |
Participant reflections | 71 |
Participant reflections | 85 |
Participant reflections | 99 |
Participant reflections | 113 |
Participant reflections | 145 |
Participant reflections | 159 |
Participant reflections | 175 |
Participant reflections | 191 |
Life in the compoundscages of the Maze | 193 |
Participant reflections | 203 |
Participant reflections | 219 |
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Accessed 10 January Aguiar approach archivists Armagh Gaol Armagh Stories art practice artwork audience audio description blanket protest Centre challenges chapter co-ownership collaborative compounds conflict context Copyright Cahal McLaughlin create discussed documentary editing engagement ethical ex-prisoners experience explore film filmmaking former prison Friday Agreement H-Blocks heritage Heritage Lottery Fund HMP Maze individuals interviews involved legacy Long Kesh Prison material Maze and Long Maze Long Kesh Maze prison McAtackney Memory Archive PMA memory practices Museum narrative Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Office Open University oral history organisation Participant reflections participatory past peace process personal data perspectives PMA participant PMA recordings PMA website political portraits preservation prison officers prison sites Prisons Memory Archive protest Public Record Office Queen’s University Belfast republican prisoners role screening social capital society space storytelling strip searching transformative justice transitional justice Troubles Ulster understanding users Visual Voices project whilst women