Archive & digital support
Alongside my practice, I’ve worked at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library in Manchester since 2020, first as a photographer digitising archival collections, now coordinating the Heritage Imaging Service. In six years I’ve developed a practical understanding of how collections function, how researchers use them, and what makes a digital archive navigable and sustainable.
This work sits at the centre of my art practice too. I’m drawn to where the archive meets embodied practice, where structured, ordered systems collide with the messy, nonlinear processes of thought, emotion, and memory. I’m obsessed with how information gets organised, what a filing system reveals about the person who built it and how an object carries memory and trace. I care about preserving things, about making sure people can find and access them, and about the stories that can get lost if things are not organised.
What I can help with
I’m not an archivist, but as an artist and photographer with experience working on digitisation at an archive, I can offer advice and guidance to small arts organisations, charities, artist and individuals who have built up a collection gradually and are thinking about organising and digitising it. I work within existing platforms and template-based systems rather than building from scratch, and also
bring copyright knowledge through CILIP training and six years of daily application.
Digital collection and archive organisation
Helping you think through how your digital collection or archive should be structured, working out what information is needed, at what level, and how to make it useful for the people who need it. This might include file naming and sorting, designing tagging and categorisation systems, creating database structures and page templates within existing platforms, and advising on file naming conventions and what information needs to be captured.
Digitisation advice
For physical items I can advise on different approaches to digitising, file storage and naming, and digital preservation options. I can also signpost to other organisations that can carry out digitisation where specialist equipment is needed. For existing digital media I can help devise an organisation and naming system, and help with organising and sharing externally on websites. This might include working out what to digitise first and why, advising on metadata and storage, and practical guidance on handling analogue formats including 35mm slides, colour transparencies, and prints.
Copyright guidance and picture research
Practical advice on copyright as it applies to collections, reproduction, and digital access, informed by professional training and daily application in an archival imaging context. I can also help locate and research images across archive collections and databases for publications, exhibitions, or digital projects.
Website and digital organisation
Practical support for small organisations whose online presence needs attention, thinking through how information is structured across your website, making content updates within existing template-based platforms, setting up simple filing systems and folder structures, and creating an archive of previous work.