Collecting for the future
Do you have a story to share?
The Tasmanian Archives (a part of Libraries Tasmania), and Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG), are partnering to collect Tasmanians' experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are reaching out across Tasmania to collect photographs, writing and a variety of objects that document the community’s experience of COVID-19.
This is a rapid response, and an ongoing project, to ensure that a selection of stories and experiences associated with this extraordinary event are preserved into the future.
We want to document and collect things that have mattered to Tasmanians during an unprecedented period of disruption.
What has life been like for you? How has social isolation affected the people you know? How is your community changing and adapting now and for the long-term?
Your contributions will help capture this moment to help future generations understand the Tasmanian experience of the pandemic.
Help us capture this unique moment and create a collective Tasmanian memory for the future!
Send your submission to:
covid19stories@education.tas.gov.au
This is what we’re looking for:
Your photos
You can maintain physical distancing while photographing examples of impacts of COVID-19 in your community.
Some examples to get you inspired:
Images courtesy of the Hrenchir-Friedman Family
Your stories
Writing is a wonderful source of the thoughts and feelings that exist within a community. We’d love to collect some of your journal entries, your letters, your songs, and your poetry.
Your objects
You could also suggest an object that has been important or helped you or your family, workplace, or community get through the COVID-19 pandemic, or that represents your, or your community’s, experience of COVID-19.
Contact us with ideas for TMAG’s collection.
Some examples to get you inspired:
How do I submit my material?
Send your submission to:
covid19stories@education.tas.gov.au
All submissions we receive will be documented and carefully assessed for potential inclusion in the collections. Please make sure your email submission and any attachments are under the 25 MB (megabyte) limit.
If your submission is an object, please email us to discuss.
FAQs
Who can make a submission?
We are hoping that a wide range of Tasmanians will submit their photos, writing, and ephemera about, for example, people in isolation, community groups, businesses, the arts community, frontline workers, people affected by travel restrictions, people who have experienced the COVID-19 virus, government workers, and support service workers. Objects might relate to medical care, personal well-being, work, shopping, keeping busy at home, and being in quarantine.
What happens when I make a submission?
The Libraries Tasmania / TMAG COVID-19 Stories Project Team will reply to you either by email or phone.
If your submission is accepted for the Tasmanian Archives, we will ask you to complete a deposit agreement and will organise the best way to receive your item(s).
If you are submitting an object that is suitable for TMAG, please send a photograph and details of the story it tells.
If your submission is accepted, we will ask you to complete a donation/gift agreement and will also organise the best way to receive your items.
Who owns what I submit?
You will be transferring ownership of your items either to the State Archivist for the Tasmanian Archives, which is part of Libraries Tasmania, or to TMAG’s Board of Trustees. This allows each organisation to make the collections available as a whole for the community to view and access in the future.
Do I own copyright of written works and photographic images?
Yes. Copyright is owned by the creator. However, by submitting your work you are agreeing to allow the Tasmanian Archives and TMAG to use your work for promotion, research, and exhibition.
Will the Tasmanian Archives and TMAG acknowledge me as the creator?
Yes, we will acknowledge you if we use your work.
Can I submit photographs of people?
You can photograph someone in a public place. We ask that you respect your subjects and try not to cause a disruption.
This is different from ‘private spaces’, where you should ask the owner for permission to take photographs. Private places include schools, hospitals and shopping centres.
Whenever you take photographs, you should respect people’s privacy. You might explain what the photographs are for, and ask the subjects to give their permission by completing a ‘subject consent form’
[download it here]. Submit this form with your photographs. We might ask you to identify the subjects by name so we can check their permissions.
Will you keep everything that is submitted?
After careful consideration, Libraries Tasmania and TMAG may decide to decline or return material that is not selected for the collection, or that is received in duplicate.
If you have read, understood, and agree to the information above, please submit your images and stories to the Libraries Tasmania / TMAG COVID-19 Stories Project Team.
Have another question? Contact the COVID-19 Stories Project Team at
covid19stories@education.tas.gov.au
Banner image: Hand-painted sign seen in Mount Stuart, courtesy of Helen Shield