Our Director
ROGER KITCHEN
Roger has a reputation for a creative and innovative approach to arts and community development. His experience includes neighbourhood community work, social policy development, training and management of arts organisations. He was the co-founder and General Manager for 11 years of Living Archive, a Documentary Arts organisation with a national reputation for its pioneering and innovative work in combining history, the arts and community development.
2003 - present

Freelance Consultant
Clients have included:
Countryside Agency: Local Heritage Initiative Production Advisor
Southampton City Council Oral History Unit - writing HLF bid and acting as Expert Advisor for Vosper Thornycroft Oral History Project
Jersey Heritage Trust - advice on Oral History Project
Woking Galleries - advice on oral history digital archiving
Stony Stratford Town Council -Project Manager (with Paul Chaplin & Co) of Market Towns Initiative
Healthcheck for Stony Stratford
West Bletchley & New Bradwell Parish Councils, Milton Keynes - advice and assistance with Parish Appraisals and visioning
York House Centre, Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes - study and development of future business plan (with Paul Chaplin & Co)
BUCCANEER (Buckinghamshire Community Archives Network Electronic Resource)- feasibility study and business plan for dvelopment of on-line repository to showcase reminiscences, photos and other archives hled by groups and individuals in historic Buckinghamshire
Oral History Society - numerous customised oral history training courses around the country
National Forest Company - interviews for their Landshapes - Heritage in the Making projectHeritage Lottery Fund - expert advisor
Horizon Housing Association Croydon, Inter-Action MK & MK Arts for Health - working with individuals to help them create their own digital stories
Rural Media Company - training project workers in digital storytelling techniques for 'Travellers' Tales' project
1992-2003
General Manager, The Living Archive, Milton Keynes
Role included:
  • Provision of the strategic direction including the generation of innovative Documentary Arts project ideas and new sources of funding
  • Management, support and development of staff
  • Project management including establishing partnerships, writing funding applications, drawing up and managing budgets and cashflows, recruiting and managing project workers, monitoring and evaluation
  • Management of and creation of overall publicity and promotion
  • Provider of training and consultancy services in Documentary Arts
    Achievements included:
  • Devising and administering national Documentary Arts award scheme
  • Co-deviser and project manager of £700,000 Millennium Award Scheme with Open University
  • Living Archive winners of 1994 Arts Council/British Gas Working for Cities Award in the Community Arts category.
  • Overseeing creation of plays, books, dance, sculpture, radio and video programmes and exhibitions all inspired by local lives and involving local people of all ages and backgrounds.
  • Co-writing 5 and producing 10 large-scale local musical documentary plays
    • 1978-1992

    Co -Director then Director Inter-Action-Milton Keynes
    Role included:
    Overseeing development of unique organisation that embraced community arts, intermediate treatment, a narrowboat and stable with 12 horses in old rectory set in two acres of ground alongside Grand Union Canal in middle of new city of Milton Keynes

    Achievements included:
  • Leading a team that devised exciting and imaginative arts in education projects that really helped to bring young people’s learning alive
  • Leading a project which provided a caring and supportive environment where disadvantaged young people were given a chance to shine
    • 1977-78 Senior Community Worker, Milton Keynes Development Corporation
    Role included:
  • Leading team of arrivals and community workers in the Woughton area of Milton Keynes
    • 1974-77 Social Development Officer, Milton Keynes Development Corporation
    Role included:
  • Liaison with statutory and voluntary bodies on the development of youth and education facilities in new city
    Achievements included:
  • Establishment of Urban Studies Centre (now City Discovery Centre) and Youth Information Service
    • 1971-74 Community Worker, Milton Keynes Development Corporation
    Role included;
  • Working with new residents on Development Corporation’s first estate, helping them settle in and encouraging and enabling the development of new community organisations
    Achievements included:
  • Pioneering the community work process for future developments in Milton Keynes