Having now recorded sixteen fascinating interviews for the Riverside Reflections oral history project, we took the opportunity to hear from three of our volunteers who, over the course of this year, have researched, conducted and transcribed them.
ROSE - Subject research and interviewing
What attracted you to the oral history project?
I’ve always enjoyed the arts but never managed to work in this sector. I also have a love of history so was intrigued to get involved in a project which encompassed both.
I discovered Riverside relatively recently as a newcomer to West London and fell in love with the space and aura of the building. The introductory volunteer event included a talk from the Riverside Archivist, coolly referring to tapes from Yoko Ono and notes from Samuel Beckett…. I was at the front of the queue to sign up!
What do you most enjoy about your role in the project?
The opportunity to meet people you were never destined to meet. People who have been part of the fabric of Riverside in different roles and eras: from Clown to Projectionist to Artist to Programme Manager. You glimpse how Riverside is stitched together by everyone playing their part, not just professionally but through grit, spirit and collaboration. I’ve never heard anyone talk about their workplace with the passion I have heard at Riverside.
What skills have you learned or been able to develop?
I have learned an entirely different approach to interviewing whereby we are encouraging the guest to respond to prompts which evoke their personal memories and reflections and they have ownership of where that takes them. It reminded me how people flourish when they are engaged and trusted - as has been the culture at Riverside.
Most importantly, I have learned to suppress all the ‘oos and ahs’ that I want to voice when listening to the guest’s story, so they are not captured on the recording!
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KATE - Transcribing of recorded interviews
What attracted you to the oral history project?
I had been volunteering on an archive project at the Courtauld Institute, digitising their photography collection. The project was coming to an end and while there were smaller projects, it was unclear how things would proceed. I saw the poster in the Riverside foyer about the archive and, months later, contacted Hope. At that stage, the archiving was complete, but she mentioned the Oral History project, so I thought that it would be worth trying.
What do you most enjoy about your role in the project?
I moved to west London in 1991, so started going to Riverside a few years later. The most interesting thing has been learning about the history of the place from its early days up to now. Also, the range of people, with their diverse roles and experiences, who have been interviewed. While part of the process is a bit tedious, the information is fantastic and makes me want to get to the end of listening to a section to find out what happened.
What skills have you learned or been able to develop?
Trying to be accurate in listening and producing a clear transcription.
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KIZ - Subject research and interviewing
What attracted you to the oral history project?
Riverside Studios has distinguished itself over several decades through its willingness to take chances on new, untested artists and others starting out in the creative industries. The oral history project uncovers some of these stories directly from the individuals, creating a series of uniquely personal, unfiltered and
fascinating testimonies.
Having the opportunity to conduct these interviews has been a huge privilege - each interviewee has revealed something new or surprising about themselves and Riverside Studios and, more broadly, about the risks, uncertainties, wrong turns and elements of luck that inevitably accompany the early phases of any successful career. In doing so, these accounts offer a range of valuable lessons for us all.
What do you enjoy most about your role in the project?
There is a research aspect to each interview, which I really like. Volunteers work with staff ahead of each interview to identify any archived material relevant to the interviewee personally, their field or the period during which they were most active at Riverside Studios. Such material may consist of (for example) scripts, correspondence, photographs, artwork, programme brochures and newspaper reviews. Looking through this information has been deeply interesting. It has helped me to formulate questions that focus directly on each individual and what are sometimes long-forgotten memories.
What skills have you learned or been able to develop?
As a technique, oral history focuses the interviewee’s own recollection of events rather than having other’s structure or interpreting this information on their behalf. So much information is now presented in a condensed, carefully edited format to secure attention or align with a particular stance. As such, oral history represents an unusually generous method of recording history. It also encourages the listener to reflect and construe their own, independent interpretation. This has taught me the importance of providing interviewees with sufficient space to express themselves, but also the need to anticipate questions or themes that, from a listener’s perspective, might otherwise have remained unaddressed.
We are grateful to all the heritage project volunteers who have given their time and enthusiasm to the activities. The oral history project has proven to be an extremely valuable extension of our archive, complementing our collection with personal recollections from so many different perspectives. We hope to develop the Riverside Reflections project in the New Year to extend our range of subjects and make the interviews even more accessible to audiences.
Happily, Riverside Studios emerged from administration in November and the company’s new owners – the Anil Agarwal Riverside Studios Trust - have a sincere passion for its history.
In November, we welcomed a large group of students from the University of Notre Dame (USA) in England for a heritage tour of Riverside Studios. This was followed by a lively discussion about Riverside’s rich history and the differences between American and British arts cultures. The university has already requested to bring another group next year.
In December, our group of volunteers met for a festive drink in the bar at Riverside. Although they contribute to the same oral history project, individuals rarely get a chance to interact with each other – although volunteers who are engaged in transcription become very familiar with the voices of those who conduct the interviews.
May 2025 will see the completion of our current NLHF-funded heritage project, which has enabled Riverside Studios to build an infrastructure around our history, making it so much easier for us to preserve our historical records, share and promote our achievements and build upon our legacy.
