Remembering refuge is a radical archive and multimedia site that centres the experiences of refugees as narrators of key periods of this border’s history. Through oral history interviews with Haitians, Salvadorans, and Guatemalans who crossed the US-Canada border between 1980 and 2018, we seek to draw out the “unofficial” stories of the border, ones not found in official archives such as government documents, media accounts, or the accounts of humanitarian workers.
Product Strategy, Content Production, Product Design, Technical Architecture,Development
The oral history interviews are central to every element of the digital experience. Each interview was not only a telling of navigating a physical landscape but also an experiential one. This became the central motif of the design language.
"
I just crossed a border, I didn’t commit
a crime."
From Maria's Story, Remembering refuge archive
Rather than drawing conclusions each visitor of the archive is reminded to think deeply about a series of questions (provocations) and their relationship to the archive and its broader context. We used these provocations as a way tracing connections between various oral histories, education modules, and resources.
Creating a living archive meant creating connections between each of the oral histories. How might they be understood, heard and read through various lenses both as individual histories but in relation to each other. How might this digital tool allow people to learn about, investigate, listen, and think deeply about the stories that are being shared.
Website coming soon
