People’s Media Record reflects on a memorable first Camp — and extends a ‘thank you’

At the top of October, People’s Media Record (PMR) threw our first-ever People’s Media Camp. We decided to hold this convening in response to the reality that far too many memory work practitioners feel isolated in their fields.

Over three days, from Friday, October 3, to Sunday, October 5, we gathered over 200 memory workers, community archivists, storytellers, and others for workshops, skillshares, roundtables, breakout sessions, screenings, and media exhibitions designed to facilitate discussion and thought-provoking engagement.

Through these offerings, attendees had the opportunity to reflect on topics such as mutual support, resource redistribution, and community activation. And those are just a few to name.

Attendees affirmed their own and each other’s efforts in this work and were able to raise challenges and even develop collective strategies to help move this collective work forward.

Mati Kassaye, a graduate student in the University of Maryland’s College of Information, said she came to Camp looking to deepen her knowledge as she advances in a career in community archives — and her expectations were exceeded.

They said: “I came away from Camp ultimately feeling motivated to continue prioritizing community and agency in my work going forward, but now with more tools that I can put to use towards that goal.”

Community archivist and artist Tieshka K. Smith, who both facilitated a session and installed a beautiful photographic exhibit for Camp, also found success at our first annual event.

In her own Substack review, she named us as her “Midweek Musing” and said she is “grateful for being in a space that truly modeled belonging — and bearing witness to work that gave and reflected back — meaning and purpose.”

Alongside those opportunities to engage through discussion and hands-on learning, we also hosted The People’s Bazaar, designed for folks to continue exchanging information, skills, and tools — all for free.

Dio Robertson of the Narrative Sovereignty Project says this event was even helpful to her, as a vendor at the bazaar.

“Interacting with so many memory workers and their projects gave me the sense of my experience in Philadelphia kind of… unfolding… into a much broader picture than I had previously allowed myself to see,” she says.

Organizational leaders reflect on a jam-packed weekend.

Director of Strategic Planning and Resource Mobilization, Winter Schneider, says this camp was designed “out of a love for and belief in the importance of uplifting this community and their work” and is undoubtedly proud of the first year’s turnout.

“One of the goals of Camp was for it to be an oasis to protect and amplify grassroots memory work, which has become particularly crucial as not only histories but people are being increasingly erased from this country,” Director of Archiving and Preservation Lila Chaar-Pérez says.

She adds that “thanks in large part to our fellow schemers, supporters, and the amazing folks who participated, Camp was a delightful experience full of co-learning, connectivity, reflection, and generative critique that showed how emotional and political our work is.”

Schneider shares thanks to all “who showed up and contributed their time, skills, and presence, making Camp not only a useful space but also a nurturing and connective environment.”

We look forward to bringing this community of practice back for a second year in 2026 and to extending our appreciation to all the facilitators, curators, artists, volunteers, and participants who helped make our inaugural year a memorable one.

PMR extends a special thank you to our partner, cinéSPEAK, for co-presenting the archival screenings as part of our Friday programming. We also extend another warm thank you to the Folks-Arts Cultural Treasures School for providing space for Camp’s Saturday and Sunday programming.

For more information about People’s Media Record or People’s Media Camp, including how to be involved next year, contact info@peoplesmediarecord.com.