Together with The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, Eliza Steinbock has won an NWO ‘Museum Grant’, which facilitates scientific research in the museum sector and is awarded to museum employees who carry out research related to the collection.

Steinbock will be the professor supervising the research process titled “Rewind and Record: Preserving the People’s History.” It will lead to a peer-reviewed article written by product manager Nicole Emmenegger.

Steinbock and Emmenegger will specifically be looking into the following question: “How can a national audiovisual archive ensure that the tools to rewind and record history are accessible to all people, while at the same time preserving and sharing these stories in a trustworthy way as part of the national media heritage narrative?”

The focus will be specifically on working with the LGBTQ+ community, which has been particularly susceptible to erasure in the media and in museum and archival practices. It will build on forty years of research on polyvocality, co-creation and participatory engagement.

The project “Rewind and Record: Preserving the People’s History” connects to Steinbock’s ongoing research into critical visitorship and heritagisation processes.

Emmenegger’s “Rewind and Record” will launch a cohesive strategy for the institution to become more pro-active in eliciting community engagement. She will also build the sustainable infrastructure for minoritarian groups engagement that will influence the collection’s growth in decades to come.

Steinbock and Emmenegger will participate in The Museum Grants kick-off on 3 March and commence the year-long research from 1 May onward. Interested parties are welcome to reach out to Steinbock and Emmenegger.