Department of Memory

Department of Memory transforms archives into living systems that are navigable, beautiful, and built to bring people together.

Case Studies:

• Obama Presidency Oral History
• Baldwin-Emerson Elders Project
• Life Stories

A note from Chris Pandza

Stories have the power to transform—if only they are shared. Archives shouldn't be places where our most important stories go to rest.

That’s why I’ve built a practice combining computational methods, close reading, and community engagement to make archives more navigable, inclusive, and beautiful than otherwise possible.

After leading some of the world's highest-profile digital oral history projects at the Columbia Center for Oral History Research—including the Obama Presidency Oral History and Baldwin-Emerson Elders Project—I began hearing from organizations sitting on incredible archives that they felt were not living up to their potential. I founded Department of Memory in 2025 to partner with these organizations and create new possibilities for the stories they keep.

My work has enabled organizations to do more with their archives than they thought possible: to produce award-winning websites, make sense of unwieldy collections, develop educational tools, enhance museum exhibitions, support documentary filmmaking and podcasting, and even partner with DJs to create new music by sampling historical records.

These initiatives save staff and researchers time, help audiences discover overlooked content, and make better use of what already exists. When materials are navigable and connected, users and visitors can spend more energy engaging with them—to learn, interpret, and create.