Mass. Memories Road Show is coming to Malden!

Informational meeting: Monday, Jan. 8, 7:00-8:30 p.m. via Zoom

Malden Reads in collaboration with the City of Malden, Urban Media Arts and the Malden Public Library proudly announce that UMass Boston will bring the Mass. Memories Road Show to Malden on Saturday, April 27, at the Malden Senior & Teen Community Center.

Photos from family reunions, special events, candid shots or formal, recent or old – from Malden or from anywhere in the world – are all welcome and will be added to a statewide digital collection. Everyone, whether living here for a day or for generations, contributes to the strength and diversity of the Malden community and is encouraged to participate and share up to three photographs that have special meaning to them and the story behind each photo.

The public is invited to an informational meeting, held via Zoom, to learn more about the Malden Mass. Memories Road Show and how to get involved. All community and cultural organizations are invited to join the outreach effort to ensure that a rich and representative portrait of the whole city is documented at the event. The virtual meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 8, 2024, 7:00-8:30 p.m. To register for this event, access urbanmediaarts.org/malden-mass-memories-road-show.

The Mass. Memories Road Show is a free statewide, event-based, participatory archiving program that documents people, places and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories. Archivists and public historians in University Archives and Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collaborate with local planning teams and volunteers to organize free public events where individuals bring photographs to be copied and included in a digital archive at openarchives.umb.edu. Contributors are invited to describe the photographs in their own words. In addition, they may choose to share “the story behind the photos” on video, have their own “keepsake photo” taken, receive advice on caring for their family photos and learn from one another about the history of their community.

The April 27 event will be staffed by professionals, historians, archivists and trained Malden volunteers who will guide participants through the various stations at the event. All ages will be welcome, and participants may attend at any time from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Since its launch in 2004, the Mass. Memories Road Show has digitized more than 12,000 photographs and stories from across the state, creating a unique educational resource for future generations. For further information about the Mass. Memories Road Show, visit blogs.umb.edu/ massmemories.

To learn more about the Malden version of the event, visit urbanmediaarts.org/malden-mass-memories-road-show. For questions, email Anne at anne@umaverse.org.