July’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Ben Compton for workshops to support those pursuing their own archiving projects outside of major institutions.

“Everyone Archives,” explains Ben, “uses the shared experience of archiving as a vehicle for intercultural, intergenerational, and interdisciplinary community-building. At the core of our mandate is a belief that each and every person has a relationship to archiving.”

“Whether someone is researching the history of their neighbourhood, organizing a music library, tracing bits of their family’s origin story, collecting recipes, or stressing about the limited storage on their phone,” says Ben, “they are an archivist.”

“In March,” Ben continues, “we held our first event at Bethell Fieldhouse, in Centretown. It was a huge success, bringing community members from a variety of backgrounds. The incredible turnout, as well as steady engagement on our Instagram account and media interest, has affirmed Ottawa locals’ desire for future workshops in the field of preservation and archival best practice.”

To learn more, visit everyonearchives.ca, or follow along on Facebook or Instagram.

Ben is an administrator, artist, and amateur archivist.