Oral history made tangible and visual: entangling photographs, objects and archaeology in the assertion of identity and feelings of loss

Abstract

In 2020, our team organized a touring exhibition among Kenya’s Ilchamus community that set out to make their oral history tangible and visual by including photographic, archival, ethnographic, and archaeological materials. This paper discusses how the exhibition was designed and how it facilitated multivocality about the past, fostered engagement with environmental and cultural histories, and how identity was (re)asserted over the objects. In particular, it discusses how archival photographs and archaeological assemblages were central to evoking imagery of everyday life and highlighting the absence of once ubiquitous objects today. This led to concerns about the ‘loss of culture and identity’ being raised, which are prevalent in the community. However, the exhibition created a contact zone where we could start addressing these concerns by strengthening ties to the cultural heritage and the landscape, building trust between us and the community, and collaboratively determine future research goals.