Archive of Documentary Arts
Priya Kambli, detail from Me (Orange)
Wendel White, images from the series Manifest
Joshua Rashaad McFadden, detail from Jeremiah Thompson left, and his father, Joseph Thompson
Jess T. Dugan, detail from Hank, 76, and Samm, 67, North Little Rock, AR
Leah Dyjak, detail from New Beach
Jeanine Michna Bales, detail from Stopover, Frogmore Plantation; Concordia Parish, Louisiana
William Gedney, detail from Kentucky Notebook
James Karales, detail from contact sheet
Frank Espada, detail from Washington, DC, 1973
About
The Archive of Documentary Arts is part of Duke University’s David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Its mission is to collect, promote, preserve, and provide access to audio, moving images, photography, and text from around the world related to the history of documentary arts.
The ADA works closely with the Center for Documentary Studies, Duke's MFA Program in Experimental & Documentary Arts, and the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.
News & Events
Now on view in the Rubenstein Photography Gallery:
Color Falls Down by Priya Kambli
“At age 18, a couple of years after the death of my parents, I moved from India to the United States with all my belongings in one suitcase.” Priya Kambli describes the journey as leaving her feeling “disconnected.” In Color Falls Down, Kambli explores this fissure through recontextualizing her family photographs and objects she brought with her from India. Read more »
Collection Awards
The Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University’s David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library is accepting submissions for our 2020-2021 Collection Awards. This year we are seeking to add to the Archive up to four projects focused on racial inequality in the United States. We encourage documentary projects that delve deeply into the relationships between structures of power and racism, including: anti-racism movements, environmental justice, housing inequality, Black trans rights, among many others. We highly encourage BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and documentary artists working in their own communities to apply. Each award comes with an honorarium of $3,500. Read more »
