Volunteers for Tape Letters

Contact:

Apply by Monday6February 2017 5 pm.

More information:

Modus Arts are looking for dedicated volunteers to research, record and archive memories and cassette tape recordings associated with the practice of sending “tape letters” between Pakistan and diasporic communities. We want to recruit a diverse group of volunteers of different ages, backgrounds and levels of experience.

Project

TAPE LETTERS is an oral history project aiming to identify, collect and archive messages sent on cassettetape in the 1960s through to the 1980s by families who migrated to the UK from Pakistan between 1950 and1970. The project seeks to unearth, archive and re/present a portrait of the cultural heritage of Punjabi(specifically Potwari dialect) speaking Pakistanis who settled in Britain, and will comment on family life via theinformal and intimate conversations recorded and sent between families here (in the UK) and abroad.

The project will run for 19 months, and is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It will

create an archive of cassette tapes and related artefacts, including contemporary oral histories of Potwari-speaking British-Pakistanis, to be held at the Bishopsgate Institute in London, and a range of high-quality outputs including a mobile app and sound art installation.

Roles

Volunteers can get involved in any or all of the following areas: oral history, archiving and research, during the collection phase of the project, which is scheduled for February – August 2017. Following this, volunteers will be encouraged to get involved in the creative interpretation stage of the project, which involves training in audio editing and assisting with the creation of the project outputs.

For the collection phase Modus are looking for:

-Oral history and outreach volunteers, who should like meeting new people and be excellent listeners. They should be willing to travel to people’s homes and community settings (for instance lunch clubs and supported housing) and be fairly flexible about when they interview people.

-Research volunteers should like reading, listening to archive recordings, be methodical about recording and sharing their research, be willing to work independently and act on their own initiative.

-Archive volunteers will help to catalogue the Tape Letters collection, in particular the cassette tapes but also other associated material like photographs and documents. Volunteers should be willing to do routine tasks (logging audio, scanning documents) as well as more creative work. We are especially looking for Potwari / Urdu speaking volunteers to assist with summarizing and cataloguing tape letters.

All volunteers will be encouraged to write about or otherwise document their work, producing blog or social media posts.

Full training and induction provided for all three areas at the beginning of March 2017.

Person Specification for all volunteers

Essential:

  • Have an interest in the history of communication, migration and sound recordings.
  • Be willing to commit time to the project between March and August 2017 and if possible, to stay involved until the project is complete.
  • Be reliable and punctual.
  • Have clear and concise communication skills (spoken and written).
  • Have basic computer skills, such as a familiarity with Microsoft Word, Excel, email and the Internet.
  • Willingness to undertake training and learn how to use simple technology for your area of interest (e.g. audio recording, scanning, social media).
  • Good interpersonal skills.
  • Be willing to travel (expenses will be covered), potentially nationwide (this especially applies to the oral history and outreach role).

Desirable:

  • Proficiency in Potwari and Urdu.

To apply:
Please send a CV (optional) and a covering letter (essential) of up to 600 words explaining:

  • Why you are interested in volunteering for this project
  • What you hope to gain from volunteering with Modus Arts
  • What time/s of the week you are regularly able to volunteer
  • What you can contribute to the project in terms of personal qualities, experience, or skills
  • Which role/s you would like to do (It will not count against you if you only want to do one thing!)

to

Deadline: 5 pm Monday 6th February 2017.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an informal interview on Monday 13th February 2017.

Background to Modus Arts
Modus Arts is a specialist sound art organisation drawing on inter-disciplinary and collaborative approaches to developing public-facing sound-based artworks and events encompassing installations, live performances, acousmatic musics, graphical scores, sound sculpture, sound archives, and workshops.

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