I’ve been a volunteer for almost 2 years now and I’m really enjoying it. I first became aware of the St Ives Archive in 2012. I was in Year 10 at school in St Ives and looking for a ‘work experience week’ placement. I’d always enjoyed history and wanted to find out more about the town, so ended up spending a week at the Archive researching the history of The Island and Porthgwidden Beach – and I was hooked!
I went off to university to study for an arts degree and used all I had learnt about research at the Archive to help me. Then fast forward to late 2022, I saw a call-out for new volunteers at the Archive and decided to sign up, as I’d enjoyed my time there so much 10 years before!
Working in a gallery at my day job, I have a keen interest in art and St Ives Archive holds lots of books and photographs of all my favourite artists, like Barbara Hepworth and Alfred Wallis, as a volunteer most of the research I do on behalf of visitors is in this particular area. Volunteering has given me a great opportunity to engage more in this interest and deepen my understanding of local history, which helps me in my day job too. It has also been a fantastic chance to meet like-minded people who are all so passionate about keeping our heritage alive and knowledgeable. I also love to browse through the old photos of the town and see how much things have changed in the last century.
Since I’ve been volunteering, I’ve been to training sessions to learn about archival conservation and environmental conditions for storage, which have opened my eyes to the many different considerations we make daily as an archive. I have also given some talks on local artists – Alfred Wallis and Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, at Porthmeor Studios. I really enjoy researching and writing talks; it’s a wonderful way to engage people with a subject and hopefully get them as excited about these artists as I am!
These artists’ talks were helping to raise funds for our upcoming move to The Market House in St Ives, which will make the Archive much more accessible to locals and visitors to the town. It’s so important that our local heritage is situated on our doorstep so as many of us as possible have a chance to learn about the rich history of St Ives. I’m excited for the future of the Archive and looking forward to many more happy years of researching, giving talks and helping visitors with their research.
My Archive Story is a new monthly blog series featuring a volunteer and their personal experience, expertise and interests at the St Ives Archive. If you would like to learn more about becoming a volunteer at the Archive, please get in touch with us here.