By Lauryne Mpah-Lémy

As the Marketing, Events, and Community Outreach Intern at Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage, I had the pleasure of taking part in the Young Archivists 2025 course, held from 10-14 February for its fourth edition.  The course offered an incredible opportunity to meet like-minded individuals who share my passion for conversations on cultural heritage and who want to engage in critical exploration of archives.

The programme equips young people from the African and African Caribbean, Asian and Latinx Diaspora with the necessary knowledge and confidence to thrive in the arts and heritage sector. Although my background is not in archives, I found the experience incredibly gratifying and eye-opening.  I believe this programme is significantly rewarding for anyone who has ever asked themselves, at least once:

Why am I not seeing myself represented when entering a museum?  

Why can’t I see people who look like me in art institutions?  

How come there are no figures I can recognise in the portraits on the walls?

The programme’s goal is to change the lens and make the invisible visible, helping to address the lack of representation that many of us, from marginalised communities, have faced when engaging with museums and cultural institutions.  Given the current state of the sector, with only 1% of the heritage workforce being diverse in the UK, despite being a multicultural country, it’s crucial to challenge the dominant vision of colonisation in museums, which is still often presented through a Eurocentric perspective.

As a group of 11 young women, aged 20 to 30, with diverse backgrounds including Ghanaian, British-Caribbean, French-Caribbean, African American, Sierra Leonean, South Asian, Hong Kongese, and Brazilian, this programme enabled us to acquire a wealth of knowledge in just five days, ranging from identifying our leadership styles to gaining essential insights into copyright law.

The training included workshops and discussions on key topics such as Archiving Principles, Digital Archives, Leadership, Marketing, and Copyright.  Led by passionate professionals who are leaders in their fields, these sessions provided us with practical knowledge that went far beyond what we typically learn in school.  As an example, at the end of the session on copyright with Naomi Korn (CEO and founder of Naomi Korn Associates) we took part in a quiz to assess our knowledge on copyright basics, giving us all six CPD accreditation points alongside a copyright essential certificate. In addition to these sessions, we had the opportunity to go to multiple exhibitions including 100 Black Women Who Have Made a Mark at the Curve in Leicester and the British Museum and Autograph in London.  These excursions allowed us to put what we discussed into perspective and observe concretely how diversity was represented in different art institutions.

Because of this programme, I feel empowered.  It reminded me that our voices and perspectives, though often marginalised, are essential to creating a more inclusive and representative cultural landscape.  As young women from minority backgrounds, having programmes like this where we can express ourselves in a safe and supportive space is vital for growing our projects and encouraging us to pursue our dreams.  The Young Archivists training gave us the confidence to make a real difference in the sector, supported by new friends who will undoubtedly become brilliant leaders in the arts industry.