The project explores the diasporic family album against the backdrop of Peckham, inviting local women of Caribbean and West African heritage to create, interrogate and reframe their own archives.
Jeffers asks:
- How can we collectively contribute towards a future archive for Peckham?
- How do our memories and desires for the future impact the types of photographs we make?
- Can this create space for something new, a catalyst for change?
Building on Peckham Platform’s programme Memories for the Future, In Living Memory uses family photographs as a way to spark conversation, share oral histories, and imagine new possibilities for collective memory.
Who is involved?
The project brings together three groups of participants:
- Young women in Peckham
- West African “aunties” from Rye Lane hair shops
- Caribbean elders in the local community
Together they are contributing to a living archive for Peckham, while also creating photographs for their own family albums.
Workshops
Across autumn 2025, Jeffers ran five participatory workshops:
- Peckham Square (27 September)
As part of Circular Square, this first workshop invites the public to join Myah in reimagining the family album as a tool for memory and community. - Black in the Day Collaboration / Scanning Social (9 October)
A social evening of music, food and conversation inviting participants to bring family photographs to be scanned, digitised and shared. - Photo Walk (21 October)
Participants document their communities using disposable film cameras, adding new perspectives to the evolving family archive. - Family Portrait Session, Sunset Studios (28 October)
Studio-based portrait photography session with participants and their families. - Family Portrait Session, Sunset Studios (4 November)
A second portrait session, continuing the creation of new images for family albums and Peckham’s collective memory.
