How We Work
Image sourced from the Public Domain Image Archive / MKG Collection Online
Supporting collaboration, creativity and community‑driven momentum
We specialise in helping start‑up and early‑development photography archives build strong foundations through a uniquely people‑centred and resource‑conscious approach. Our consultancy combines Design Thinking, Lean project methods and Asset‑Based Community Development (ABCD) to co‑create development pathways that reflect the values, voices and ambitions of the communities behind each archive.
Rather than imposing a rigid framework, we work collaboratively with teams, volunteers and stakeholders to identify existing strengths, underused assets and emerging opportunities. This creates quick wins, builds early confidence, and establishes momentum — even where resources are scarce or organisational structures are still forming.
Our process centres on co‑creation, open dialogue and participatory decision‑making. Whether the goal is to establish cataloguing priorities, shape a digitisation roadmap, develop volunteer and trustee capacity, or articulate the cultural significance of a growing collection, we develop each step together. This ensures the archive’s direction is not only strategically sound but also authentically rooted in the lived knowledge and creative energy of the people who care about it.
Activating relevance, preserving legacies
We also work directly with photographers who want to preserve and activate their legacy in ways that are meaningful, ethical and culturally grounded. Our approach brings together the photographer’s vision with the strengths of the surrounding community — whether that means local residents, cultural enthusiasts, academics, students, volunteers, trustees or local authority and creative partners.
By using our varied tools and processes, we help photographers and their supporters create development roadmaps that are both practical and imaginative. This collaborative model not only safeguards the body of work, but also builds shared ownership, deeper engagement and long‑term relevance.
Whether you’re an established photographer with decades of material or a practitioner seeking to prepare your archive for future generations, we help you protect your legacy while empowering the people connected to it.