Collage, Crafts and Community Archives

What do you remember about Watts from decades ago? Which stories from Los Angeles would you like to see preserved today? Join us at the Watts Branch to learn about personal archiving resources, start an oral history project, and help preserve your memories for future generations. Please bring a few cherished heirlooms you’d like to digitize using our archival scanner. If you would like to print a scan or photo from your digital archive to use during the collage workshop, please arrive early. 

• 12 - 1 p.m.: Mixed Media and Collage with Sarah Taylor
  
  Participants will be given a brief overview of collage and its role in the history of art. They will also practice creating a balanced, well-composed mixed-media artwork they can take home. Audiences will discover the power of using found images to create something new and truly unique that invokes a theme and carries personal significance.
   
• 1 - 3 p.m.: Picture Frame Decoration|
  
  Print a 4x6 photo of your scan or image from your digital archive and decorate a picture frame to display it or gift it to someone special.
   
• 12 - 3 p.m.: Oral History Listening Station
  
  Discover oral history resources at LAPL, including digital collections and oral history backpacks available for checkout.
   
• 12 - 3 p.m.: Archival Scanning Station
  
  Have your archives scanned, consult with an archivist, and discover the resources available at LAPL to help you preserve your memories and keepsakes. Limit of 5 to 10 items per person, depending on the format.
  
  *Our Epson Expression 13000XL scanner has dimensions of 12.2 x 17.2 inches and is compatible with documents, photographs, and negatives (4x5, 35mm, and medium format).

Photograph in collage from the Shades of L.A. Photo Collection. The queen and her court riding in the 1967 Watts Summer Festival parade.

The Los Angeles Public Library offers this workshop as part of Community: Your Archive, Your Legacy, an initiative supported by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles and funded by the Mellon Foundation.