Video material on display at 2 Royal Avenue in Belfast in a special showcase exhibition throughout February alongside interactive film posters
Northern Ireland Screen is celebrating the digitisation and cataloguing of over 120 new items to its Digital Film Archive following the success of Northern Ireland Now, a contemporary collecting project delivered in partnership with Nerve Centre.
Northern Ireland Now: Contemporary Collecting is an innovative outreach and digitisation project aimed at increasing representation in the Digital Film Archive. The project has been delivered with the support of the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery, and prioritised diversity and inclusion, helping to bridge gaps and address imbalances in the archive.
Since 2000, the Digital Film Archive team at Northern Ireland Screen has carefully curated thousands of hours of moving image footage from 1897 to the present day. However, the archive has lacked contemporary material related to some key themes and communities including ethnic minorities, diversity of religious belief, disabled people, neurodivergent people, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and working-class communities.
Leveraging the experience and delivery methodologies of Nerve Centre, Northern Ireland Now has engaged 12 underrepresented groups across the region through innovative programmes.
Groups have included migrant support group the Anaka Women’s Collective, a group of young people from Moneydarragh Youth Hub who archived Tik Tok and short form videos, and a collective of heritage and music enthusiasts from Omagh who submitted films on music, railways and women in politics.
Project participant Leo Lardie from The Rainbow Project said: “I think as a group of different ages with people in their early-mid 20s up to their early 50s it acted as a great cross-generational activity. It was truly impactful to feel like our stories mattered and that the NI Now Project were genuinely interested in trans inclusion.”
And Rabie Mustapha from ImageNation NI, an Indian heritage group, said: “I learned much about the need for diversity in the archive and how to think of an archive as a living thing that can be nurtured.”
Over 120 items have now been catalogued and added to the archive, contributing to the rich film tapestry of Northern Ireland’s evolving story.
A selection of films from each of the groups have also been curated as part of a project showcase on display at 2 Royal Avenue in Belfast throughout February. Specially commissioned film posters by the artist Louis Nelson, which represent each of the groups are also on display, which can be unlocked by augmented reality.
Exhibition dates: Monday 3 – Friday 28 February. More information.
Find our more about Northern Ireland Now.
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