Tony Dowmunt • THE FUTURE OF PAST MEDIA

London Community Video Archive

To understand the future of media it is important to delve into media past. Media archives such as the London Community Video Archive (LCVA) provide an excellent opportunity to do this. LCVA preserves, archives and shares community videos made in the 1970s-1980s in London and the South East. Around 40 screenings and events have been organised so far based on this material, in collaboration with community groups, activists and artists, largely made up of marginalised and underrepresented sectors of society. 

An 8-minute video about these screenings is also available to watch. The core aim is to make the archive alive and useful in the present and the future - by actively engaging audiences in discussion and action, and by demonstrating the continuing vitality of these alternative media practices.

Tony Dowmunt is Emeritus Professor at Goldsmiths, an experienced TV director and producer, a media activist and a co-director of the London Community Video Archive. He is currently working on a website about Australian Indigenous Media.