About
Cultural Documents generates opportunities for people to share and develop their ideas through the processes involved in researching, making and presenting contemporary visual art.
We produce events, exhibitions, film-screenings, artists’ residencies, new writing in critical and promotional texts and our website/online-archive to generate sustained dialogues with communities and link locations/places, identities/nationalities and generations/mindsets.
Operating from production locations in coastal west Scotland and rural central Italy, We produce processes which connect micro-local with global contexts in order to reify intangible aspects of society such as of identity, language, place and environment.
We work with a wide range of people through research and production to activate dormant knowledge and produce new Stories and Events which inter-connect disciplines, transcend conventional networks and bring people with common concerns into exchange in new arenas.
We use a pragmatic, empirical and iterative approach* throughout the programme in order to stimulate reciprocity, collaboration and innovative thinking between stakeholders; Cultural Documents staff are accessible, accountable and actively co-investigating with other stakeholders.
*(research, dialogues, definition, production, dialogues, reflection, exploration and more dialogues, with evaluation woven all the way through.)
Throughout all our work, we invite and encourage people to carry out their own enquiries, exchange ideas and information, and think about how our work representing social and environmental transformation makes sense to them.
Please follow activities on the Events page and come and co-investigate with us…
Please help us to improve our methods and inform our work – send us feedback and keep in touch at producer@culturaldocuments.net.
It takes time to undertake research and develop and produce new Stories and Events, so please return to this page, and follow us on Facebook for announcements of events.
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Please sign-up here for regular announcements
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Director – Dr Deirdre MacKenna – director@culturaldocuments.net
Producer – Cheryl Connel – producer@culturaldocuments.net
Finance – Ainsley Smith & Co Chartered Accountants – accounts@culturaldocuments.net
Event mediation, storytelling and translation 2017, 18, 19, 20 – Luca Ferri
Translation 2019 – Valentina Serpe
Event mediation, storytelling and translation 2017 – Riccardo Gentile Lorusso
Event mediation, storytelling and translation 2017, 18 – Federica Cesaroni
Translation 2015, 16 – Monica Di Meo
Project development, engagement and translation 2013 to 17 – Teresa Buono
Advisory Panel
Address – Cultural Documents, 8B Sinclair Drive, Oban, PA34 4DR, Scotland.
Enquiries – Tel 00 44 7 989 747 230
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Cultural Documents is registered in the UK as a Community Interest Company number SC626912, funded through sponsorship and grants, generating no surplus income; all funds raised are used to realise the programme.
Cultural Documents would like to thank funders, sponsors and partners listed below, who enable us to achieve our aims.
Cultural Documents was created in 2006 as a non-profit and values-driven agency and is registered in the UK as Community Interest Company number SC626912.
The objects of the Company are to carry on activities which benefit the community, in particular to
• represent, build awareness of and positively advance under-represented social and environmental themes and issues;
• fulfil the above by initiating and providing cultural services (research, advice, consultancy, production, presentation, events, evaluations) for and with individuals, groups, charities and commercial agencies;
• promote, document, publish, evaluate and archive the above;
• advance such similar purposes, projects, initiatives and activities for the benefit of the above as the Directors may consider appropriate.
Cultural Documents encourages and practices diversity, equality and inclusion to/with/between all and actively and openly oppose all forms of unlawful and unfair discrimination.
Please read more at this link.
We especially welcome the recent guide ‘Photographing New Scots: a best practice’ published by Scottish Refugee Council.
Please read about it at this link and
Download the guide sheet at this link.
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After a twenty-year career in non-profit cultural organisations, Deirdre MacKenna developed Cultural Documents as a means of producing cultural activities in collaboration with a wide range of partners: individuals and groups, national museums, festivals, conferences, cinemas and galleries.
The programme aims to address the complex intangible aspects of contemporary society through rigorously researched and produced networks of projects utilising an iterative, non-extractive method which we have developed and call progressive focusing which is defined in dialogue with key stakeholders. The programme elements comprise artists’ residencies, exhibitions, film-screenings, events, critical and promotional texts, an online archive and sustained dialogues with communities across multiple locations, nationalities and generations.
Amongst others, artists, film-makers and writers commissioned to undertake residencies and make new works include Maria Thereza Alves (1961 Brazil), Lena Bergendahl (1983 Denmark), Nina Bacos (1961 Sweden), Valentina Bonizzi, (1982 Italy), Sandra Chistolini (1950 Italy), Craig Coulthard (1982 Germany), Richard Cousins (1963 England), Mario Cresci (1943 Italy), Agapito Di Pilla (1975 Italy), Richard Demarco (1930 UK), Jimmie Durham (1940 USA), Douglas Gordon (1966 UK), Danny Holcroft (1981 UK), Alexander and Susan Maris, Leena Nammari (1970 UK/Palestine), Max Ockborn (1982 Sweden), Adrian Paci (1969 Albania), Stephen Partridge (1953 UK), Elaine Shemilt (1954 UK) and Lauren Wells (1984 USA). Please see our Contributors page.
Since 2015, Cultural Documents has delivered 65 events in Europe and Australia. Partnerships and presentations have been made in Cultural Documents’ research studios and with The Rockfield Centre Oban, CCA Glasgow, An Tobar Mull, Summerhall Edinburgh, The Dunoon Burgh Hall, Document Film Festival Glasgow, The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Timespan Helmsdale, Royal National Mòd, Being Human Festival, Refugee Festival Scotland, Serpentine Gallery London, Mother Tongues Festival Dublin, Cinéma Le Concorde Paris, British School at Rome, MACRO Roma, Museo Nazionale del Molise a Venafro MiBACT, Fondazione Morra Greco Napoli, Museo Winterline Venafro, Associazione per la Memoria Storica del Territorio Filignano, GRAMNet University of Glasgow, Universidade de Coimbra, Monash University Melbourne, Budapest Metropolitan University, Autostrada Biennale Kosovo and many non-Arts venues such as social centres, cinemas, bars, cafés and outdoors locations. Please see our Events page.
Funders and sponsors have included Creative Scotland, MiBACT (Ministero dei bene e delle attivita culturali e del turismo, Italia), Regione Molise Italy, Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo Lazio e Molise, Corpo Forestale dello Stato d’Italia, Monash University (Australia), EU COST Action IS1306, The Italian Cultural Institute Edinburgh, The Wilhelmina Barns Graham Trust, Arts and Business Scotland, Heriot Watt University, The University of Edinburgh, The University of Dundee, Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities (SGSAH), the Refugee Festival Scotland, CHARTS Argyll, COMAR, IFSWorldwide, Buono Costruzioni, Milk Café, Tony Macaroni Restaurants, Colavita International, Scatoloficio Stella and many private businesses and individuals.
Cultural Documents has been
- awarded winner of the International category of the 30thArts and Business Scotland Awards 2017,
- shortlisted in the International category for 29thThe Arts and Business Scotland Awards 2016,
- shortlisted for the UK AHRC Research in Film Award 2016.
