Technologists with the soul of Archivists
We bridge the gap between temporary cultural events and permanent digital legacy. Rainforest Studio is the infrastructure partner for the next generation of history.
From Moments to Monuments
Rainforest Studio began as an experimental lab exploring how communities tell stories. But as the work continued, we noticed a critical flaw in the system: The Legacy Gap.
Millions are spent on 12 month cultural festivals. But when the tents come down, the stories often disappear into hard drives or dusty basements.
We realised that modern culture needs modern infrastructure. We evolved from an art collective into a technology studio with a single mission - to build the operating system that ensures local history is captured, searchable, and alive for future generations.
Built on Three Pillars
Data Sovereignty
We believe communities should own their history. We build on open-source standards that ensure your data remains accessible, exportable, and secure—independent of any single vendor or platform.
Human-Centric AI
Technology should serve the story, not replace it. We use Artificial Intelligence not to generate fake history, but to make genuine oral histories discoverable and conversational for the first time.
Born-Digital Preservation
Traditional archiving happens years after an event. We build "Live Archiving" tools that capture the energy of a festival in real-time, creating a legacy that starts the moment the event begins.
We don’t just store files. We weave threads.
A database is a list of files. An archive is a collection of meaning. Rainforest Studio is building infrastructure that keeps provenance, context, and permissions intact — so cultural memory stays useful, not just stored.
We’re starting with living archives: datasets you can search and chat with, grounded in the original source material.
Who We Are
Rainforest Studio was founded by Tanya (that's me 👋), a Chief Product and Technology Officer with over a decade of experience building digital products that centre community and culture.
By day, I lead technology at a tech community for Black women. By night (and weekends), I'm building the infrastructure that ensures cultural festivals don't just disappear when the funding runs out.
This project started with something I couldn't shake. I kept seeing brilliant community work — oral histories, textile archives, neighbourhood stories — quietly disappearing. Locked away in hard drives, or lost entirely, because there was no system built to hold them. The events were real. The records were evaporating.
I'm building Rainforest Studio because that's not good enough. Not anymore.
What We're Building Now
Threads of Memory is our pilot project—a proof-of-concept that tests whether we can turn temporary art installations (quilts, textile maps, oral histories) into permanent, searchable digital archives.
If successful, this becomes the template for every Borough of Culture, City of Culture, and Heritage Action Zone across the UK.
Built With Intention
Rainforest Studio is currently applying for Google Cloud for Startups credits to power our RAG infrastructure. We're built on open standards from day one — because the communities we serve deserve infrastructure they can trust and own long-term.
Ready to Preserve Your Legacy?
Whether you're a festival organiser, cultural institution, or local government, we'd love to talk about how the Living Archive can serve your community.
Contact the Studio