NewsEvent of interest
Community Archiving Workshop in Vilnius, 19 October
Image: Meno Avilys
An event of interest, organised by Meno Avilys and the Community Archiving Workshop. It is not a Participio event; we share it because it matters for participatory work.
On 19 October 2026 the Meno Avilys Cinematheque in Vilnius hosts a one-day Community Archiving Workshop, where archivists and volunteers from the local community work side by side to preserve an audiovisual collection. Participio will take part.
What happens. The day starts with short presentations on how to recognise audiovisual formats (film, audio and video tape) and what puts them at risk. Participants then split into groups to inspect and inventory the collection of Saulius Macaitis, a Lithuanian film scholar and critic. The collection joined the Cinematheque's holdings in 2009 and includes several thousand VHS tapes, periodicals, books and his personal photographs.
Why it is worth watching as a method. The workshop has three stated goals: to train participants in handling audiovisual collections, to involve community members in processing and describing their own community's material, and to prepare a small set of recordings for preservation. Volunteers do real archival work, not a demonstration, and the result is a usable inventory.
Programme.
- 9:30-10:00 Arrival and coffee
- 10:00-11:30 Introductions and technical presentations on film, magnetic media and creating a collection inventory
- 11:30-12:00 Inventory practice with the Macaitis collection
- 13:00-15:00 Participants' home movie footage, shared and discussed; inventory work continues, with an optional film inspection demonstration from 14:00
- 15:00-16:30 Screenings and a talk by Gabrielius Rakutis on the use of archival footage in film
- 16:30-17:00 Discussion and close
Practical. The workshop is free and held in English. Registration is required and open until 15 October through the registration form; only confirmed participants can attend. The venue is the Meno Avilys Cinematheque, A. Goštauto g. 2, Vilnius.
Who is behind it. The workshop is organised by the Centre for Audiovisual Culture Meno Avilys and the Community Archiving Workshop (CAW, USA), in partnership with Vilniaus kolegija, and led by Moriah Ulinskas and Shay Hix of CAW. It runs alongside the conference of the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA), whose programme is online. It is supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Lithuanian Film Centre and Vilnius City Municipality.