WANT TO MAKE A SOUND MAP FOR YOUR CITY ?

Here is How !

First READ everything you can about your city!

I found books like Hidden Vancouver helpful.

Plaques around the city are also good starting points for what the City values –
Soldiers/ war history/ etc.

Access MUSEUMS and through those Museums, people who specialise in less known history.

Brainstorm myths about your city – then research to see if they are true

Brainstorm important events that you think happened in your city but are less publicized.

Look at all the marginalised groups in your city and brainstorm what you know of their history

What don’t you know? What heroes do you know about from each group?

Have their important stories been told or sidelined?

Look up GROUPS that support underrepresented groups in your region.

Ask people of undererepresented groups in the area you are studying.

For me, I connected with:

Black Library in Vancouver 

– a new initiative started by a UBC student to act as a hub for Black people in Vancouver and Black culture here. 

Museum of Vancouver – Curator of Indigenous Collections Dr Sharon Fortney very kindly responded to my call for a recording. 

Greenpeace – with the help of my mentor I have recorded a conversation with Bill Darnell, one of the original Greenpeace crew members who set sail in 1971 on the inaugural journey. I learnt that their first trip was about Nuclear testing not whales.  I came across some political issues as some members of the group are now somewhat divided on what they believe about the environment and sustainable energy. Bill was able to offer a fascinating, balanced insight into the group’s understanding and motivations as they set sail. Probably the most exiting interview I have had in my life !

Hastings Mill Museum

Vancouver Maritime Museum – I asked the past curator of the Museum to help mentor me. I didnt want to take too much of his time and I didnt know how many questions I’d have so I asked him for Ten minutes a month – Duncan MacLeod very generously been mentoring me for five months and I have been able to focus my questions to ask him about integrity, rights to recordings, how to ask adults mutiple times etc – Having a mentor is really important as you might come across challenges and not know how to handle them and your family or school might not have the skills. In addition, your mentor might troubleshoot ahead of time, thinking what you might come across as an issue. For me Duncan MacLeod has been very responsive to questions and he has offered alternative speakers when some pulled out or had problems. 

REQUEST – Ask for something reasonable- – I asked for 30 seconds to 1 minute’s narration on an important overlooked event or time in history. People can record it in their own time on their phone – some people dont have phones that record so you might need to meet them somewhere safe like at their Centre or Museum. I also asked them for how they’d like to be addressed in material so it is respectful for them and I asked them for a map location so the soudmap is accurate to what they are describing.

SUSPEND your knowledge of history – the whole point of this project is to hear other perspectives on the same place.

BE PATIENT At school, teachers may follow up students for work, but on this project, I have spent and am spending quite a lot of time chasing adults! So, give yourself time to get to find out about a group or person, to approach them and give them time to respond and be aware that you might have to help them with the recordings.

Be SENSITIVE of the cultural norms and customs for example Jewish and Indigenous cultures being Spoken Word focused. 

ASK – If you don’t fully get what something is about, ask! I have found people very open and happy to share their ideas and beliefs and history.  Be AWARE of the thinking that may be different to yours. Be comfortable being UNCOMFORTABLE – it will happen – for example people might talk about things with a different concept or word usage and that is all good.

Be AWARE that you cannot get all history of all people, but be honest and open about your remit and focus on the areas you do choose.

Respect what you are told as PRECIOUS – very significant to the people telling their story – so very important to preserve and represent it all in the right way – again – if you arent sure, ask for clarification! 

Now you need to embed the map with the soundbites – choose the right size map that encompasses all your focus. If you can, make the soundmap using Google Maps adding a Sound layer. Here is a good demo video by Richard Bryne

Alternatively, as I’m doing in my Vancouver soundmap, use a static map with embedded links. I’m using the WordPress plugin Draw Attention to link from icons positioned on the map to audio recordings uploaded to SoundCloud.

Unfortunately, even if your website is tiny and you are just plotting things on a $12 site, like me, malware can attack! Have BACK UP! Keep a clean file of your work and update it regularly. I am just remaking this site, and completing my soundmap, after a cyber attack. If you do have a cyber attack, ask the host where you registered the site for help. Sometimes they can give you a past copy of your site.

LAUNCH! – After all the work, and to thank and publicize people who have helped you, work out how you want to launch! It can be an online event, a media event ( where you send a Press release to local newspaper ) or you can just write and thank speakers for all their time invested. For me, connecting with the Ukrainians who I supported over the last two years, is important because I was partly inspired by the Ukranian group who wanted an inexpensive way to get to know our city.

The free tour of our city, complete with underrepresented and marginalized people’s spoken history is literally putting their voice on the map.

NOW you have done all the work, enjoy seeing how many clicks you get and keep the site fresh by adding to it as you come across new possible speakers.

Please tell me how you get on! 

David

@TalkHistory2024