About the Archive
The Poverty Truth Community Archive - our digital quilt - is an online collection of community-donated images, personal artefacts, texts, recorded stories and hand-made collages. Together, these materials tell the story of the Poverty Truth Community’s work over the last two decades. Each ‘patch’ holds an individual memory or moment, but stitched together they form a powerful collective voice.
The archive is not intended to be a complete record of everything the Community has done, nor a comprehensive account of individual lives. Instead, it offers a curated and evolving collection of materials that reflect key moments, themes and experiences across the life of the Community. Some items capture public-facing work such as exhibitions, events and campaigns. Others reflect quieter, more reflective moments of connection, learning and change.
How the archive came about
The archive grew out of a collaborative project between the Poverty Truth Community, the Binks Hub at the University of Edinburgh and the artist, Jean McEwan. The project was supported by Ed MacKenzie at Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) and Nel Coleman at the University of Edinburgh's Library Service.
The project began as a creative and participatory way of thinking about legacy, memory and collective knowledge. Community members had been invited by PTC to share images, objects, text and recorded stories that held meaning for them. The community wanted to find a way to bring these contributions in a digital form using the metaphor of a quilt. They saw each contribution as being like a patch on a quilt: distinct, partial and shaped by individual experience. When stitched together, these patches reveal connections, shared histories and collective insight that cannot be seen in isolation.
Working with a team of community researchers (Marie Therese, Carole, Caroline) and Elaine Downie (Poverty Truth Community Co-ordinator), the Binks Hub have supported PTC with the project. This has included practical support with consent forms and organising the dataset, as well as delivering creative community activities. Creative activities including community collage making, the outputs of which are included in this archive.
Care and consent
Care and consent are central to how this archive has been developed. The Poverty Truth Community has led what is collected, how it is created, and what is shared. The Binks Hub at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh Library Service supported the process by sharing expertise in community archiving, hosting events to co-create quilt patches, collecting recorded stories and oral histories, and advising on the technical platform that holds the archive.
Materials have been included only where contributors have given informed consent for their work or words to be shared in this way. In some cases, names have been changed or details limited to protect privacy and wellbeing.
For these reasons, the archive should be understood as partial, situated and shaped by relationships. What is included reflects ethical judgement, practical constraints and ongoing conversations about what it means to share community knowledge responsibly.
Types of material in the archive
The Poverty Truth Community Archive brings together a wide range of materials donated by community members and created through collaborative processes. These different forms of material reflect the varied ways people choose to share experiences, memories and knowledge.
Memorable images
The archive includes photographs contributed by community members. These document events, exhibitions and collective activities, and capture personal moments and everyday scenes. Some images centre on objects that hold personal or symbolic significance. These may include everyday items, handmade pieces or materials collected during meaningful moments. Images are, where possible, accompanied by short descriptions that provide context and meaning.
Short stories
The archive contains a variety of short stories provided (where possible) in both audio and text format. Together, they offer insight into how people make sense of their experiences in their own words.
Collage and creative works
Hand-made collages and other creative outputs created by artist Jean McEwan sit at the heart of the archive. These works express experiences that are difficult to capture through words alone. In the archive, collages are presented alongside descriptions that explain how they were made and what they mean to those involved.
Linked and contextual materials
In some cases, archive items link to related materials such as exhibitions, campaigns, events or public outputs. These links help situate individual contributions within the wider work of the Poverty Truth Community and show how personal experience connects to collective action and policy engagement.