Northern Ireland Now: Contemporary Collecting Project

A contemporary collecting project in partnership with Northern Ireland Screen which will address underrepresentation in the Digital Film Archive and champion equality, diversity and inclusion. Northern Ireland Now: Contemporary Collecting, is an innovative outreach and digitisation project from Northern Ireland Screen and Nerve Centre. This project will increase representation in the Digital Film Archive — a database that contains hundreds of hours of moving image footage from 1987 to the present day. Northern Ireland Now is increasing access to archival material with the support of the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery, led by Northern Ireland Screen.

Through a programme of moving image co-curation and skills development, Northern Ireland Now aims to enhance the accuracy of the Digital Film Archive in reflecting contemporary life in Northern Ireland. This includes addressing outdated language and concepts in older archival holdings to ensure the content remains relevant and respectful.

The project will give voice to and prioritise material relating to underrepresented communities including ethnic minorities, diversity of religious belief, disabled people, neurodivergent people, LGBTQIA+ individuals and working-class communities (especially young men), to address imbalances in our collections. Click here to get involved.