FILM AND CONVERSATION: DEMOCRATIC ARCHIVE

The Democratic Archive* presents powerful stories about Västerbotten in film and podcast.

FILM: Västerbotten County Workhouses
A documentary film about the homes for schoolchildren that were organized in several places in the hinterland of Västerbotten during the first half of the 20th century.Children from remote areas lived and worked here for long periods of time, without their families, and often without the opportunity to go home during the semesters.

The story and experiences are told with great attention to detail. In addition to interviews, the documentary draws on a wealth of archival material and work that we learn more about.

Participants: Susanne Odell, archivist, Folkrörelsearkivet i Västerbotten and Petter Engman, photographer, Västerbottens museum.

TALK: The crime of Steppar-Jerker in Österjörn
The story of Steppar-Jerker is based on a tragic event that took place in Österjörn in 1935. Since summer 2021, it has been available as a True Crime serial in the podcast series Livet i arkivet. With the help of various types of archival material, not least newspaper reports, the listener gets close to the people involved, the places and the time of the crime - but also the person who puts the puzzle together.

The conversation revolves around what real-life crime cases as a genre can provide but also require from a cultural-historical and ethical perspective.What do we see in national and local history but also in our own time? And what is it like to work with "just" sound to convey a story?

Participants: Marianne Folkedotter, narrative antiquarian, Västerbotten Museum and Ola Nordebo, editor-in-chief of Västerbottens Kuriren. Discussion leader: Robert Herrala, Nordic Storytelling Center.

*Democratic Archive is a project where Folkrörelsearkivet i Västerbotten and Västerbottens museum collaborate in the search for more stories in archives and collections. It is presented like this:

"In the project, we highlight stories, with a connection to the whole of Västerbotten, to increase knowledge about and interest in archives and collections. By combining documents from Folkrörelsearkivet with Västerbottens museum's photographs and objects, new ways of collaboration are explored, to reach a larger audience.

We target young people and people born abroad, as we have seen that these groups are underrepresented as archive users and visitors. Others who are interested in culture and history are also our target audience.

The project's journey, and the findings made, are presented in a newly launched podcast and through various events. In the long term, they will also be used in new basic exhibitions at Västerbotten Museum.

The project involves archivists, educators, historians, ethnologists and antiquarians from the Västerbotten Museum and the Folk Movement Archive in Västerbotten."