LJ FY
LIFE JOURNEY FINDING YOU
ABOUT This is a small-scale archival project. • Making a collection, one small step at a time. • Anyone can achieve with little resources. • No grand ideas, no big budgets. • Small collections come together to make a larger whole. This is a people project, about life and life journeys. • Find what is unique and special in yourself or your group. • Take steps through a transformative process. • Share life stories and life works. • Contribute to the material culture of our time.
LJ FY
LJ FY
The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are. JOSEPH CAMPBELL, THE HERO’S JOURNEY
INSPIRATION NARRIE APPROO MASMAN
BORN 1927 . LIVES ARIMA, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
On 22 April 2020, Narrie Approo celebrated his 93rd birthday. He first played mas at the age of 7, in 1934, and continued playing mas for 85 years up to 2019. Throughout his career, Narrie hand made his costumes and taught himself numerous techniques such as seine bead work, embroidery, painting, mould making and paper maché. Later on in his life he had peers that handled sewing and shoe making while he focused on headpieces, capes and accessories, not only for himself, but for many other masmen. Narrie’s artefacts include reference books, photographs, notebooks with speeches and songs, and various costume elements. What has survived of this collection should be preserved. I hope to collaborate with an organisation to store the mini archive of Narrie Approo.
LJ FY
REFOCUS
LJ FY
We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us” JOSEPH CAMPBELL
LJ FY
FINDING YOU seed
growth
fruit
SAT
CHIT
ANANDA
being
consciousness
bliss
HEART
TRUTH
RAPTURE
passion
exploration
gift to world
CLUTTER
SORT
CONTAIN
miscellany
transform
special collection
LEGACY
LJ FY
Through gathering and collating miscellany and artefacts, individuals find power and truth, underline legacy and create a record of material culture for future generations.
LJ FY
PROCESS We encourage you to stir up your memory, rummage for and gather stuff, collect in any large box/es. Follow simple guidelines to sort into groups, edit and place in archival containers. Create a unique collection to transform your treasures into a small archive that would inspire you, your family or your community and contribute to the material culture of our time and place.
LJ FY
BACKGROUND Horniman Museum UK
Curated Midnight Robber headpieces, 1997
Curated Exhibition
Folklore to Festival: A celebration of our cosmos, 1999
Personal Collection
Natural history collection
Minshall Mas Archive Minshall Mas Foundation
LJ FY
From Miscellany to Special Collection One step at a time until it is achieved.
LIFE JOURNEY FINDING YOU
PARTICIPANTS
Creatives Individuals Families
LJ FY
PROTOCOLS Step 1 - rummage, gather, collect Step 2 - sort, group, edit Step 3 - box, contain Step 4 - design, transform, inspire
LJ FY
LJ FY
Narrie Approo Collection
Reference books, photographs, writings, artefacts
LIFE JOURNEY FINDING YOU
CELEBRATING Narrie Approo
LJ FY
Step 1 - rummage, gather, collect
Collect items that are precious to you. Put into large boxes. These could be: • photographs, slides, videos • newspaper clippings, letters • artefacts, heirlooms • story boards, writings • sketch books, art/creative works • objects, garments, books, etc As an artist and creative Narrie Approo’s boxes include: • Reference books - Illustrated children’s history books • Note books of speeches and songs • Trophies and awards, etc • Tools and samples of working material
LJ FY
Step 2 - sort, group, edit
LJ FY
Step 3 - box, contain
LJ FY
Step 4 - design, transform, inspire
A Collection in a box | Mini museum | Mini archive
LJ FY
ACTION ITEMS ‣ Take one step at a time to complete sorting and digitising of the Narrie Approo Collection.
‣ Design the box/display system for the Narrie Approo archive. ‣ Make reproductions of writings and photograph albums for Narrie to have at his home.
‣ Connect Narrie Approo to West Indiana and Special Collections for a hand over of a mini collection.
‣ Achieve a minimum of two, or maximum of five, archives per year. ‣ Build partnerships and a continuity plan. ‣ Create business plan and look at funding options.
LIFE JOURNEY FINDING YOU
LJ FY
LJ FY
TRANSFORMATION
Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it. The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. JOSEPH CAMPBELL, THE HERO’S JOURNEY
SERVICE TO COMMUNITY
Sample Collections
LIFE JOURNEY FINDING YOU
LJ FY
LJ FY
FL Collection artefacts, clippings, photos LIFE JOURNEY FINDING YOU
LJ FY
LDC Collection Trinidad postcards LIFE JOURNEY FINDING YOU
LJ FY
LDC Collection photographs, handmade artefacts LIFE JOURNEY FINDING YOU
LJ FY
LIFE JOURNEY
One way or another, we all have to find what best fosters the flowering of our humanity in this contemporary life, and dedicate ourselves to that. JOSEPH CAMPBELL, THE HERO’S JOURNEY
NEXT STEPS
Virtual platform for sharing
LJ FY
LJ FY
PARTNERSHIPS
West Indiana and Special Collections Archive
Plantain Related books Online archive
National Archive Archival storage
Online digital archive, physical archive Outreach, research, continuity
IN THE FUTURE
Storage of mini archival collections
LJ FY
LJ FY
MATERIAL CULTURE
Pitt Rivers Museum Oxford, UK
Ellis Island & Immigration Museum New York, USA
Inspirational archives of culture and life histories
LJ FY
Follow your bliss. JOSEPH CAMPBELL, THE HERO’S JOURNEY