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
On View:
James Van Der Zee and Michael Francis Blake: Picturing Blackness in the 1920s
Hightlighting the resonances between the work of James Van Der Zee and Michael Francis Blake, two African American photographers working in the 1920s at the height of the "New Negro Movement."
Submissions Open:
Deadline is fast approaching for the new Human Rights Audio Documentary Award.
Access
We work to ensure collections are available and accessible to a diverse group of individuals. We strive to expand and strengthen avenues of access that are equitable and open. We balance this with the appropriate privacy restrictions. While we try to honor these limits requested by creators or donors of collections, we also seek to foster accountability and will conduct a through review of restrictions prior to accepting materials. We support teaching and access by campus users as well as welcome those that come from beyond our campus community.
Requesting Restricted Collections
A number of our collections are tagged with physical/technical restrictions due to the fragility of the original media, such as cassette tapes, 16mm film, and negatives among others. They are available to view either on the Digital Repository, or via use copies or digital copies in the Reading Room.
We recognize there are times when viewing the original media is warranted for research. In order to request access to the physical media or to inquire about any restrictions on collections in the Archive of Documentary Arts please email Caitlin Margaret Kelly, curator, at caitlin.kelly@duke.edu, or via phone at 919-681-7963, or you may reach out to J. Andrew Armacost, head of collection development for the Rubenstein Library.
