Conference Keynotes confirmed
Introducing our conference keynotes
Our conference will be in Bristol and online this year from 27th -29th August the theme: ‘Next Generation: Innovation and Imagination in Record-Keeping' gives plenty of scope for a varied programme and our choice of keynotes reflects this.
All three keynotes are now confirmed.
In very different ways all our keynotes look at ways of making the record-keeping sector more inclusive, whether that is taking a more creative approach to cultural heritage education or to the way in which we bring the public into our spaces and give them meaningful experiences.
Wednesday Keynote: UnClusion — a keynote designed not for comfort but for courage.
The Wednesday keynote will be delivered by Julz Davis - Creativist at Curiosity Unltd, a grassroots think and do tank for positive social change
Julz is an award winning Creativist inspired to creatively use the tools of activism to co-create with organisations, groups and other like-minded change-makers keen to advance diversity and social change for a better world for all.
Julz says: “Welcome to Bristol — the UK's protest capital. From the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott to the toppling of Colston, this city has always dared to disrupt. So what better place to host the 2025 ARA Conference — and to ask, together: how do we reimagine the record?
On August 27th, I'll be delivering UnClusion — a keynote designed not for comfort but for courage. It's an invitation to poke, prod and radically reframe the way we keep, share and shape our collective histories. It's about confronting whose voices get captured, whose truths get prioritised, and how we move from exclusion to intentional inclusion.
As Disruptor-In-chief of the award-winning Curiosity UnLtd, I've spent several years leading creative campaigns that centre community voice and cultural bravery. From GRIOT, a radical gallery intervention on enslavement at M Shed, to Bristol Bus Boycott 360 a three citywide campaign of positive civic disruption — I've seen how storytelling, when reclaimed by the people it affects most, can shake institutions and shift policy. Our work is driven by one simple truth: history is made by everyone, so it must be for everyone.
As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Silence serves no one.
Archivists, conservators, and records managers aren't just caretakers of the past — they're shapers of the future. And in this pivotal moment, you have a unique opportunity to lead from the front.
This year's theme, 'Next Generation: Innovation and Imagination in Record Keeping,' is a call to action. Who gets to enter the archive? Who feels safe to stay? Are we protecting systems — or prioritising people?
I'm joining the conference not to tick a box but to break one wide open. To challenge. To connect. To build. If you're ready to unlearn, imagine, and act together, let's co-create a braver, better, and less UnClusive future for the people who make and shape history for good.”
Thursday keynote: Accessible Cultural Heritage Education – Starting Small Thinking Big
Our keynote speaker on Wednesday is Professor Christina Young, she is Director of the Kelvin Centre for Conservation and Cultural Heritage Research at the University of Glasgow. Before joining the University of Glasgow in 2017, Christina was a Reader at the Courtauld Institute of Art in the Conservation of Easel Paintings and Conservation Science. Before that, she was Leverhulme Research Fellow at Tate. Christina teaches and conducts technical art history, conservation and conservation science. One key strand of her research focuses on the history of British scene painters and their materials. This research relies heavily on the use of archives in many forms and on the development of oral history archives.
In her keynote Professor Young will reflect on accessibility to Cultural Heritage Education. She will discuss the ways in which the Kelvin Centre is attempting to address accessibility specifically in conservation training as well as more widely in the cultural heritage sector. She will also highlight other initiatives within Glasgow University. For example, Technical Art History, Conservation and Conservation Science teaching and research within the Kelvin Centre utilize and support archives including the UofG Archives & Special Collections, Alasdair Gray Archive and Glasgow Print Studio Archive.
Christina says: “The Kelvin Centre hopes that by working alongside these and other colleagues we can improve awareness of the field and possibilities for access to education. Relevance and representation are the keys to widening the field. Starting small with funded opportunities which open-up access for underrepresented individuals/communities both as users of and practitioners in archives and records. Thinking big by promoting the concept that archives and records are a tool for agency and part of our collective identity. The conference will enable me to learn from others how they approach the present challenges and how they think Universities should play a role in the future.”
Friday keynote: Archives for All! A Multisensory Approach to Archive Collections
PurpleSTARS will deliver the keynote on Friday, sharing their many years of experience of working with museums and archives, sharing practical tips on how to create accessible experiences, making museums more inclusive and fun. They will be presenting some of their past projects including:
their interactive sensory labels at the British Museum
their recent UKRI funded Mindsets + Missions commission, Something New, Sensory belts and role play quest Operation Dragon at St Fagans National Museum of Wales, [LINK https://vimeo.com/1001142476?share=copy#t=0]
and
their recent collaboration with The UK National Archives connecting sensory engagement with the materiality of archives. Collaborating with Sarah Petter and Natalie Brown from The UK National Archives, they designed their own seals, inspired by the historical wax seals they touched, and also created their own paper with Conservator Victoria Stevens. These hands-on activities not only provided active engagement with historical materials but also added a material and personal twist to the museum and archive experience.
In their keynote they will be highlighting the importance of exploring alternative, sensory and multi-layered approaches to knowledge, employing universal and inclusive design. As part of their presentation they will also be showcasing some of the materials, methods and tools from their previous collaborations with museums including their 6-step action research process.
They will also talk about the importance of presenting information in easy read RIX Wikis (simple, accessible, secure and easy to build personal websites) and Rix EasySurveys (part of the RIX suite of tools and one which is already gaining a reputation as the most accessible survey software available).
Speakers for purpleSTARS will be: Ajay Choksi, Samantha Walker and Kate Allen K
They say: “Nothing about us without us! purpleSTARS expect people with lived experience of learning difference and disability to be included at all levels of institutions. Recognise, give time and space, listen to, reward and employ diverse people! Share your power, embed this in your institution, make it resilient and long lasting, be an ally, the results will be transformative!”
There is still time to book for our conference – registration closes on 5th August
Full three day packages with or without accommodation (includes social events)
One and two day registrations (with optional/additional social events)
Online bookings
Book here: https://openingdoors.eventsair.com/ara2025/