RTD2015 08 Photo-parshiya - Discursive Assemblages in an International Women’s Centre

Research in community-based design highlights the importance of photo-sharing to support membership. As digital photographic collections both age and proliferate, the use of physical mementos and materials have been explored to support rich social interactions around photo-sharing within the home, museums, education and social care settings. However little attention has been paid to digital-material design for diverse cultural community heritage. We present the photo-parshiya; a digital photo-album, an artefact designed and used as part of a long-term research partnership with the Angelou Centre1, an international women’s centre in the UK. The purpose of the artefact was to initiate discussion on how technology might support creative exploration of heritage across cultures and generations. We describe how particular digital-material assemblages encouraged appreciation of archives to highlight the importance of material ‘herstories’, confidence and play with technology while drawing attention to the challenges of sustaining community, familial continuity and relevance with young people when moving to the UK.