Following a fantastic experience at last year’s Archives * Records SAA Conference in Anaheim, California, we were especially excited to make the trip to New Orleans, Louisiana, for ARCHIVES * RECORDS 2026.
Taking place at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, this year’s conference marked the Society of American Archivists’ 90th Annual Meeting, bringing together archivists, records professionals, industry partners and experts from across the profession for several packed days of learning, discussion and networking.
With two plenaries, 40 education sessions, open forums, vendor mini-theaters, networking opportunities and a busy Expo Hall, there was plenty happening throughout the conference. Topics stretched across some of the biggest conversations facing the profession today, from digital preservation and records management to leadership, advocacy and, of course, the growing role of AI.
Joined by our US partners, HAI, we hosted a joint exhibitor booth throughout the event and took to the Mini-Theatre for ‘Beyond AI – Real Partners, Real Workflows, Real Archival Access’, presented by Paul Sugden and Brandon Werts.
The conference got off to an incredible start, with an exceptionally long queue forming at our booth almost as soon as the exhibition opened, helped at least in part by our plush pelicans, gators, and our popular bullfrog stress balls. We fully embraced the Louisiana bayou theme with our booth merch!
Beyond the booth and mini-theatre presentation, the trip offered the perfect opportunity to experience some of the history, culture and heritage of the American South.
We caught up with PastView CEO Paul Sugden following his return to the UK to get a first-hand account of his time in Louisiana and the travels that followed.
Paul Sugden: Outside of an incredible SAA conference, I ate wonderful beignets, went on a steamboat and lost count of how many jazz bars I acquainted! I also explored New Orleans through both an adults-only Ghost, Crime, Voodoo and Vampire tour and a Heart of the City bike tour, and both revealed just how richly layered the city’s heritage truly is.
The night-time walk through its supernatural lore showcased the powerful role of storytelling in shaping collective memory, where Creole spiritual traditions, true-crime history and folkloric invention intertwine.
By contrast, the daytime bike tour grounded those stories in the lived fabric of the city, tracing colonial foundations, neighborhood identities and distinctive burial traditions across the Vieux Carré and beyond. Taken together, the two experiences offered a compelling reminder that heritage is never a single thread: it is the interplay of myth and documentation, of street-level landscapes and long-held beliefs, all contributing to the evolving sense of place that defines New Orleans.
Paul Sugden: The day trip to Memphis added a powerful musical-heritage dimension to the journey, tracing the city’s role in shaping American cultural identity through blues, soul and rock ’n’ roll. Standing at landmarks such as Beale Street and the Lorraine Motel underscored how place, memory and social history intersect.
My visit to Graceland was incredibly special, especially walking around the archive. I even stood in the same place where Elvis recorded his first song during a subsequent visit to Sun Studio!
In Nashville it was music, music, music of every variety, and a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame was amazing. Outside of this, I went on the Downtown Nashville Food Tour, which added a vibrant culinary thread to this journey through Southern heritage.
Moving between locally owned kitchens, historic honky-tonks and family-run confectioners underscored how tradition is preserved not only in museums and archives, but also in recipes, craft and the everyday rituals of eating together.
It was a reminder that cultural heritage is often most powerfully encountered through taste, place and the stories carried by those who keep these practices alive.
If you'd like to learn more or discuss a specific project, please don't hesitate to get in touch with our team.