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Islington Heritage: Islington’s Pride

Who are they?

Islington Heritage is made up of Islington Museum, the Local History Centre, and the Cally Clock Tower project. Islington (an iconic borough of London) is a treasure trove of LGBTQ+ heritage and culture, and thus the Islington’s Pride project was born.

 

Image from the Islington’s Pride website. 

“Working with Humap was a great experience. From initial conversations to the final outcome, there was a great exchange of ideas. We both came with our own sets of aims and visions, and in the end Humap created a digital map that fully met our expectations."
Seán McGovern Project Manager, Islington’s Pride

What was the challenge?

The Islington’s Pride team wanted to embed the digital resource into the physical landscape through the clever use of QR codes on the 50+ pink plaques they erected around Islington (pictured left).

The team also needed a platform that could be used to share and preserve ephemera, oral history, and at-risk heritage.

That’s where we come in…

 

Image from the Islington’s Pride website. 

“The Heritage Trail is a great opportunity for all of Islington to learn more about the important LGBTQ+ history that is part of our identity as a borough. Islington Council...is proud to support this important project which builds a fairer Islington.”
Councillor Troy Gallagher Mayor of Islington

What was the result?

Islington’s Pride was a huge success.

Physical QR codes match up to records, some of which have been organised into walkable heritage trails. The launch of the map was covered in local press and the reception to it was extremely favourable.

A huge amount of archival material, ephemera, and oral history has been made public for the first time. Islington’s Pride has demonstrated the strength, creativity, and longevity of Islington’s LGBTQ+ heritage and legacy.

The map contains 156 records and trails.

"Thanks to Humap we have a public and permanent record of the rich LGBTQ+ heritage in Islington (and there’s a lot to record!). Places, people, objects and ephemera can be easily documented and accessed."
Seán McGovern Project Manager, Islington’s Pride

Why Humap?

Our layout enables are clients to create experiences that are interactive and multimedia, engaging different senses and making learning fun.

Moreover, as demonstrated by the QR codes and trails, Humap can be used to create learning experiences that seamlessly transition between the physical space and the online resource.

As Humap hosts and maintains the site, the Islington Heritage team are free to move onto other projects in the knowledge that their hard work won’t go to waste.

 

Want to know more about Humap for cultural heritage? Check out our use case page.

Working with Humap was a great experience. From initial conversations to the final outcome, there was a great exchange of ideas. We both came with our own sets of aims and visions, and in the end Humap created a digital map that fully met our expectations. We really enjoyed working with the Team. There was lots of straight-talking and good humour, at no point did we feel we needed to explain what we were trying to achieve. Humap are truly humanities focussed.  Digital design and UX is very cool right now, but the Humap team make it feel like it’s for everyone.

Thanks to Humap we have a public and permanent record of the rich LGBTQ+ heritage in Islington (and there’s a lot to record!). Places, people, objects and ephemera can be easily documented and accessed. Humap has allowed us to create informative and engaging entries with audio and video, which are not overly academic, but encourage users to explore further from this great starting point.

The Humap Team understand digital humanities, they listened to what we had to say and felt like our ideas were taken on board. All conversations were productive, all deadlines were met and they were very responsive to emails. We felt involved in the process. Even following project completion, we login to the backend of the site we see tweaks and improvements to make the experience better. The team are clearly passionate about what they do, matching the same feelings of the team at Islington Heritage Service.

Humap allowed us to map at-risk and intangible heritage that exist in people’s memories, in magazines, flyers and posters. The ease of use means we can add or amend entries quickly and easily. It allowed us to take objects from our archive and give them more meaning, to tell a story, as well as celebrate important but lesser known people who made an impact in our community. Humap also aided us when considering future projects and how we can bring other Islington stories to life. – Seán McGovern, Project Manager, Islington’s Pride

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