Art & Archive
Personal History Artworks
Helping you craft and preserve your most valuable work of art—your life story.
Art & Archive
is a film and art studio specializing in personal history art works.
The result is your story—shining and true.
My team and I are accomplished filmmakers & artists who craft works of art to tell life stories. Our approach is tailored, detailed and discerning. The work is a mix of documentary, ethnography and, some would say—poetry.
What is Art & Archive?
Why Art & Archive?
Our lives do not begin with our births and end with our deaths.
They are narratives that extend in either direction with the intentions of our parents and the stewardship of our children.
The story of what happens in between, the way we lived our lives and the wisdom we acquired—
is our legacy.
Remember the laughter, the tears, the triumphs, and the struggles—each are a vibrant thread in the tapestry of your life. But, without deliberate preservation, the richness of your life experiences risk being forgotten in a few generations.
I believe that it is up to us
to ensure our stories are preserved for our children.
Read about the "Do You know?" Study about the importance of children developing an Intergenerational Identity here.
Otherwise, we leave a void in the story of humanity
and deprive future generations of the invaluable connection to their ancestors that would help shape not just their identities but their destinies.
That’s why it is my mission to document
the depth and breadth
of the human experience–
to make both Art & Archive
of my clients lives.
And why it is my passion to help you craft and preserve your life story—so that you can leave a meaningful and impactful legacy.
And why it is my passion to help you craft and preserve your life story—
so that you can leave a meaningful and impactful legacy.
SERVICES
All services begin with a complimentary 30-minute consultation call to help you discern which Art & Archive service will meet your needs.
ART & ARCHIVE HAS DESIGNED A RANGE OF SERVICES
TO SUPPORT YOU WHEREVER YOU ARE ON
YOUR PERSONAL HISTORY JOURNEY
ART & ARCHIVE HAS DESIGNED
A RANGE OF SERVICES TO SUPPORT YOU
WHEREVER YOU ARE ON
YOUR PERSONAL HISTORY JOURNEY
These 60-min. creative feedback, project & research strategy or technical troubleshooting “ask-me-anything” calls are meant to get you unstuck and unstoppable on your family history journey.
Special Project Consulting
OPTion No.
1-on-1 creative, strategy or technical consultations by video or phone
$100/hr
1-on-1 video or phone call
Pay by the hour for only what you need
Get expert advice and feedback tailored to your unique project and goals
from someone who is as excited about your family story as you are.
Receive a recording of the call along with a written action plan delivered via email
1
This is the service for you if:
You’ve taken on the responsibility of preserving or telling your family story but you feel alone or overwhelmed and need guidance. You're wondering, "Should I turn the family story into a book? A film? An audio memoir? A website? A combination of these?"
You want to do to the work yourself but you need help taming the chaos and creating a strategy for organizing and digitizing your family archive
You want to interview your family members yourself but you need help troubleshooting or want recommendations on best practices for recording, filming and editing audio or visual media
You are editing a loved one’s memorial video by cutting together old family movies and photos and would like creative feedback from an experienced filmmaker, writer and artist
You are on the hunt for an ancestor in Ancestry.com and you need a genealogists experience and instinct on where to look next
Book with Meghan for general strategy & creative feedback, book with a member of our Production Team for technical guidance or book with our Genealogist for help hunting down your ancestors.
Join a workshop to document your history 2-pages at a time and experience self-discovery, resilience, and growth in a supportive group setting. No writing experience necessary.
You have been meaning to write your life story but have never found the time
You want to record your experiences for your kids and grandkids in your own words
You need some guidance, structure and motivation to get the words down
You enjoy a small group atmosphere of supportive peers
You are interested in the process of reflecting on your life and want to find the meaning in your experiences
You want to have fun while working on one of the most important projects you will ever take on
Option No.
One 2.5 hour class
per week
$400
An 8-week workshop
Each class consists of:
-writing warm-up exercises
-discussion of weekly theme
-sharing aloud of your story
-time for supportive feedback
Connect with your inner voice
2
Join me and a small group in a structured journey to write your life story with an 8-week Guided Autobiography (GAB) workshop. GAB workshops facilitate deep reflection on your pivotal moments, family, career, and more through themed sessions and thought-provoking questions.
Find meaning in your life experiences
Discover attributes & strengths
you didn’t know you had
Craft and preserve your legacy in your own words
Class capped at
8 people per class
In-person & on-line workshops available
This is the Solution for you if:
You have been entrusted with all of your family’s old photos, slides and home movies and you are worried about what will happen to your family’s story if you don’t act now to preserve it by protecting the items from decay
You want your materials organized, cataloged, preserved with best archival practices so that you collection makes sent to whomever inherits it next
You don’t have the time or expertise to organize and digitize everything you yourself
You want to make a family history project like a video or book but need to organize and digitize everything first
You know that if your grandkids know where they came from, they will benefit from a sense of history, pride and belonging
You know that you wouldn’t be who you are without hard work, sacrifice, love & dedication of your ancestors and you believe that preserving your family history honors their memory
Family History Archiving
Option No.
3
Organizing & digitizing of your complete family archive
from $3k*
a 2-week
done-for-you Service
Finished archive will consist of completely organized and cataloged hard copies of your family archive, along with an organized and cataloged digital archive of all of your family photographs, slides, videos and films
Hard copy archive is delivered in your choice of acid-free archival boxes
Digital archive is delivered on a thumb drive, your hard drive or uploaded to cloud-based storage
Complimentary quote including cost of digitization, materials and estimated labor
There will be a day where you won't be here to provide context to that box of family photos shoved in the attic.
Commit your story to record and ensure that your family's story survives any downsize. A descendant who might not even be born yet will thank you.
*plus cost of materials (ie. photo albums, plastic boxes, or acid-free archival boxes)
This is the service for you if:
Get your photos, slides, 8mm and videos etc. sorted, catalogued & preserved properly in archival boxes and then digitized so that they tell story of your family for generations to come.
You want to get your stories down but would like someone to draw them out of you and guide you in your reminiscing
You regret never asking your own parents more about their lives and want to leave a recording of your own voice for your family
You are looking for a meaningful gift for the person who has everything
You want to honor your loved one and their life by capturing their essence through their life story
You want to know more about a loved one but are unsure of how to ask questions that will bring out their life stories
Audio Memoirs
Option No.
Audio Memoir Interview
to capture the stories
of your life
$2k
a 2-hour Interview
2 Hours total of recording captured over 1 or 2 days
Edited & Finished
Audio Memoir is approx.
1-1.5 hours in length
Delivered on CD
thumb drive, and as
a digital download
Stories edited into multiple audio tracks (like chapters)
Add on option:
Have stories edited into a compelling NPR/podcast-style narrative
4
Do you remember the sound of your grandmother's voice? Don't you wish you could hear it just one more time?
Record your life story and give your grandchildren the gift of not having to one day wonder what it would be like to hear your voice again.
An Audio Memoir is a relaxed one-on-one interview designed to help you reflect on and record your most significant life experiences.
This is the service for you if:
You are looking for the opportunity to reflect on your life experiences in a way that imparts your acquired wisdom to your children
You want to honor your parents or spouse with a portrait that captures their unique essence and all that you love about them
You want your children to remember the sound of their grandparents laugh, the way they moved their hands when they spoke and the light in their eyes
You want the absolute best in video quality, artistic vision and sensitivity of portrayal when choosing a filmmaker to create your loved ones portrait
Portrait Films
Option No.
30-minute get to know each other call
from $10k
A 2-Day Film Shoot
2-hour sit-down
filmed interview
4-hour filming in 2nd
location of your choice to capture you in action
(ex. at work, enjoying your favorite hobby, in nature, with family)
Original 15-mins or longer Portrait Film
Final archival copy of film delivered in a format of your choice: DVD, thumb drive, or downloadable digital file
5
A&A Pre-Production Questionnaire
Custom Film Proposal
One Round of Editing Feedback
Whether it’s on the occasion of a retirement, a milestone birthday or an anniversary, or the fact that you simply want to capture their unique essence, a portrait film captures this moment in time and everything that your loved one is.
Hire Art & Archive to help you craft and preserve your most valuable work of art—your life story.
This is the service for you if:
Your life is a creative act—
a masterpiece in the making.
And your creativity has borne fruit that will be lost if not preserved. Let's capture your life story so that your legacy remains vivid and impactful for generations to come.