Our Approach

  • Balay Archives centers Kurdish voices in the telling of Kurdish life.

    In a history often documented from the outside, the archive affirms the importance of lived experience and self-representation. Here, we are preserving memory and Kurdish history from within, through those who have lived it.

  • Balay Archives presents its materials with clarity, care, and historical grounding—situating each image within its place, time, and lived experience.

    The archive also serves as a point of entry for those unfamiliar with Kurdish history, offering context that supports deeper understanding while recognizing the limits of memory and gaps within the historical record.

  • Balay Archives is dedicated to the long-term preservation of photographs, writings, and personal records of one Kurdish family, with the aim of documenting Kurdish life and contributing to a broader collective history.

    These materials are cared for not only as family memory but as part of a broader historical record, ensuring that what has been lived is not lost to time, displacement, erasure, or neglect.

  • Balay Archives provides access to selected materials in order to foster cultural, educational, and historical understanding.

    This access is intentional and considered. The archive is committed to sharing responsibly, respecting privacy, honoring consent, and recognizing the sensitivity of certain moments and records.

This archive is held in trust for future generations.