VEHA Archive
Address:
Bialystok / Bielsk Podlaski, Poland
Website
Social Media: @veha.archive
VEHA’s collections consist of digital copies of vernacular photographs dating primarily from the mid‑20th century to the late Soviet period. These materials are organized into ten thematic collections that explore key aspects of daily experience. The collections focus on everyday life, domestic rituals, communal feasts, funeral practices, relationships with the landscape (forests, rivers, swamps and stones), ruins, and wooden architectural heritage. The archive’s digital format enables wide accessibility while preserving fragile analogue originals held by families throughout the region.
Bialystok / Bielsk Podlaski, Poland
Website
Social Media: @veha.archive
About the archive
The VEHA Archive is an independent digital repository dedicated to preserving and researching the visual history of Belarus through vernacular photography. Built entirely from family photo archives, VEHA focuses on everyday images created outside official or professional contexts, offering an intimate and often overlooked perspective on 20th‑century Belarusian life. By digitizing and organizing these photographs, the archive provides access to personal histories that collectively illuminate broader social, cultural, and environmental narratives.VEHA’s collections consist of digital copies of vernacular photographs dating primarily from the mid‑20th century to the late Soviet period. These materials are organized into ten thematic collections that explore key aspects of daily experience. The collections focus on everyday life, domestic rituals, communal feasts, funeral practices, relationships with the landscape (forests, rivers, swamps and stones), ruins, and wooden architectural heritage. The archive’s digital format enables wide accessibility while preserving fragile analogue originals held by families throughout the region.
Focus & Research
VEHA’s work centers on exploring the history of a community through the lens of everyday life, foregrounding perspectives that are often marginalized or absent from dominant historical narratives. By focusing on vernacular and documentary photography, the archive highlights how ordinary images can serve as powerful sources for understanding social relations, cultural practices, and collective memory. The archive welcomes researchers and practitioners interested in family archives, everyday life, and the transformation of analogue photographs into digital archival spaces.Residency details
Available period for archive visits: May 2027Duration on location: 2 to 4 weeks
What the archive offers:
Access to archival materials, databases and catalogues; digital resources; scanners; technical or research support; curatorial guidance and creative input; and introductions to the collection and its contexts.Workspace:
Reading Room, shared workspace, studioAccessibility
- Limited accessibility
- The space is accessible by stairs only and includes narrow passageways
