METRO has partnered with the Urban Democracy Lab (UDL) at New York University’s Urban Listeners working group to get more oral histories online. We’ve co-sponsored an Aviary account where independent oral historians can upload their audio or video content, with OHMS metadata and transcription options. Check it out at https://urbanlisteners.aviaryplatform.com/.
Opened in 2017, METRO’s Studio offers our members access to the tools they need to digitize, describe, and create of cultural heritage materials. Our Studio makes the labor and the communities associated with archiving and preservation visible, legible, and accessible; the space itself is a platform for action so that participants can organize to create their own community narratives.
Urban Listeners is a working group of NYU’s Urban Democracy Lab. The group is composed of oral historians, community organizers, archivists, artists, teachers, and scholars who are dedicated to knowledge-keeping and knowledge-making that acknowledges the profound impact power relations, colonial legacies, identity, and politics have on what we hear about both the past and present. Our group values advocacy and activism, and remains thoughtfully critical of the boundaries between scholarship and practice.
If you’re interested in becoming involved, or know an independent oral historian who could use a platform, please contact Molly Schwartz at mschwartz@metro.org.