Original graphic by Nikki Pressley, created as a visual interpretation of the DocX fellows' presentations of their work to DocX alumni and industry leaders in April What happens when documentary artists are given time, space and care to simply create? We asked the DocX fellows to reflect on their four-week residency.Held in Durham at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies (CDS), DocX: Another World is Possible was created by Stephanie Owens and … read more about DocX Diaries: Reflections From Six Fellows in Residency at CDS »
Zoomed in view of original graphic by Nikki Pressley, created as a visual interpretation of the DocX fellows' presentations of their work, with photo of Imani Dennison Imani Dennison is a multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker whose work explores memory, folklore and identity. They participated in the DocX Residency: Another World is Possible at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) in spring 2025 — conceived by Stephanie Owens… read more about DocX Diaries: Reflections From Imani Dennison »
Zoomed in view of original graphic by Nikki Pressley, created as a visual interpretation of the DocX fellows' presentations of their work, with photo of Arielle Knight by Kennedi Carter Director Arielle Knight is a New York- and Mexico-based documentary filmmaker and producer mining the absurd, mythological and mundane to center and recover the multiplicity of Black experiences. She participated in the DocX Residency: Another World is Possible at the Duke… read more about DocX Diaries: Reflections From Arielle Knight »
Zoomed in view of original graphic by Nikki Pressley, created as a visual interpretation of the DocX fellows' presentations of their work, with photo of Emily Mkrtichian and Kamee Abrahamian Emily Mkrtichian is a filmmaker and multimedia artist whose work is deeply influenced by her upbringing in a displaced, diasporic family. Kamee Abrahamian is a queer artist, storyteller, producer, mother, waitress and witch whose work summons ancestral reclamation, diasporic futurism and justice… read more about DocX Diaries: Reflections From Emily Mkrtichian and Kamee Abrahamian »
Zoomed in view of original graphic by Nikki Pressley, created as a visual interpretation of the DocX fellows' presentations of their work in April, with photo of J Wortham J Wortham is a writer, oral historian, reiki practitioner and sound healer living in Brooklyn. They participated in the DocX Residency: Another World is Possible at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) in spring 2025 — conceived by Stephanie Owens and… read more about DocX Diaries: Reflections From J Wortham »
Zoomed in view of original graphic by Nikki Pressley, created as a visual interpretation of the DocX fellows' presentations of their work in April, with photo of Dominic Yarabe Dominic Yarabe is an award-winning filmmaker and interdisciplinary artist based in New York. She participated in the DocX Residency: Another World is Possible at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) in spring 2025 — conceived by Stephanie Owens and … read more about DocX Diaries: Reflections From Dominic Yarabe »
The newest +Program isn’t about fetching coffee for directors. Students will take an active role in four unique documentary projects. Doc+ students Ali Pfaff (left) and Shelby Parker (right) explore the rich holdings of Perkins special collections during a guided tour. This summer, they’ll contribute to “Student Action with Farmworkers,” conducting archival research, recording oral histories and curating findings in a public-facing zine. Photo: Lauren Henschel “This kind of program didn’t… read more about Doc+: A Summer of Documentary Immersion at Duke »
At the 2025 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the Duke Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) presented its CDS Filmmaker Award to “Coexistence, My Ass!” directed by Amber Fares.Full Frame is a vital program of CDS and embodies Duke’s commitment to the arts and community engagement. The CDS Filmmaker Award, offered for the 23rd time, recognizes documentary films that combine originality and creativity with firsthand experience in examining societal issues of our time. In… read more about The 2025 CDS Filmmaker Award Goes to “Coexistence, My Ass!” »
Duke senior Lauren Valle is the winner of the 2025 Julia Harper Day Award for Documentary Studies. The Biology major, who will graduate with a Certificate in Documentary Studies, will receive a prize of $500.The Julia Harper Day Award was created by the Duke Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) in 1992 in memory of the young woman who was our first staff member — a writer and photographer of real accomplishment. The annual award recognizes seniors who have demonstrated excellence in… read more about Lauren Valle Receives Julia Harper Day Award for Documentary Studies »
A Duke student views a portrait of him on display at Duke Center of Documentary Studies. The work is part of Lauren Valle’s capstone project, “Unseen Histories: Latinidad in Focus.” Photo: Dhruv Rungta Bold new documentary work by four Duke seniors and one rising senior is now on view at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies. Developed this spring in the Capstone Seminar in Documentary Studies course, their projects span photography, zine-making, film and oral history, and will be on… read more about Five New Visions in Documentary Art »
This week author and filmmaker James Robinson ’20 returns to Duke and the Center for Documentary Studies (CDS), carrying signed copies of Whale Eyes, his newly released illustrated memoir based on his CDS capstone project. Join CDS for an author talk with James Robinson on Wednesday, Mar. 26, at 6:30 p.m. … read more about From Capstone to Debut Memoir: CDS Alum James Robinson Shares His Story »
A visiting artist, Duke MFA|EDA student, and Duke professor share how a popular exhibition came together. Mary Berridge's photograph, “Graham at the Louvre,” is part of the “Visible Spectrum: Portraits from the World of Autism” exhibit on display at Duke's Center for Documentary Studies through Friday, February 28. (Image: Mary Berridge) “My son Graham was diagnosed at age seven with Asperger’s, but I think we should have known when he was a lot younger,” says Mary Berridge, a… read more about Behind the Visible Spectrum: Curating Photographs of Young Autistic People »
Photo by Lauren Henschel, director of Doc+. Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) announces Doc+, a new six-week summer program for undergraduate students focused on the documentary arts. The newest addition to Duke’s popular +Programs, Doc+ will provide students the opportunity to contribute to documentary fieldwork addressing critical issues and explore diverse mediums such as photography, film, audio and oral history. Through Doc+, students will work in small teams under… read more about Call for Applications: New Doc+ Summer Program for Undergraduates »
Join us for a workshop series to hear from Duke faculty awarded seed grants in documentary studies. To support the expansion of scholarly and artistic communities across campus, Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) awarded 2024-2025 grants to faculty to seed new research undertakings.In February and March, faculty recipients will present their work to date, followed by question-and-answer sessions. All are invited to participate in the workshops below sponsored by CDS and Duke's University Forum… read more about Faculty Present Documentary Studies Work-in-Progress »
Duke's Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) is offering a Summer 2025 funding opportunity for documentary fieldwork and research.Established in 1990, the John Hope Franklin Student Documentary Awards are named for the noted scholar John Hope Franklin, the late professor emeritus of history at Duke, in recognition of his lifetime accomplishments and his dedication to students and teaching.CDS makes awards of up to $2,000 available to undergraduates attending Triangle-area universities to help them conduct sustained work on… read more about 2025 John Hope Franklin Student Documentary Awards: Apply Now »
Deadline: March 17, 2025. Become a fellow at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival! This opportunity is open to all Duke undergraduates and takes place April 3-6, 2025, in Durham, NC.The Full Frame Fellows Program is aimed at educating, motivating and nurturing students. Along with screening films, fellows have the opportunity to network with documentary filmmakers and seek advice that can apply to their own careers. In 2019, approximately 180 participants from 20 schools took part in the Fellows Program… read more about Full Frame Fellows 2025: Apply Now »
First row: Imani Dennison, Arielle Knight, Emily Mkrtichian; second row: Kamee Abrahamian, J Wortham, Dominic Yarabe Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies announces the cohort chosen to participate in the 2025 DocX Residency–Another World is Possible, created by Stephanie Owens and Nyssa Chow. The residency is an invitation for documentary artists working across disciplines to take space to breathe and create.Gathering at Duke from March 18 through April 18 and coinciding with… read more about Six Documentary Artists Coming to Duke for the DocX Residency–Another World is Possible »
Deadline: January 31, 2025 The Center for Documentary Studies announces a call for proposals to support Duke University faculty who wish to engage students with DocX Residency Fellows during the period of March 18 – April 18.DocX is a program of the Center for Documentary Studies that strives to meet the critical need for artists to be supported and nurtured in their imaginative thinking, exploring and questioning. We believe that joy, fellowship and reciprocal care for each other’s processes and… read more about Call for Proposals: Duke Faculty/Student Engagement with DocX Residency Fellows »
Photo by Zeni Alia Two students in the Documentary Studies course “Photo Fever: Curating Photography Exhibitions” (DOCST 333S/733S) are the curators of a photography series, “Waiting for a Train,” and an installation, “Good Luck!”Ama Kyereme is a graduate student in the MFA Experimental and Documentary Arts program at Duke who explores cultural interpretation and storytelling through curation. Annie Tong is a third-year student and photographer from Duke Kunshan University whose work… read more about Works by Albanian Photographer Zeni Alia on View at CDS »
Mia with Fur, 2016 © Mary Berridge Mary Berridge’s award-winning series of photographs is paired with narratives written primarily by the subjects or their parents. The exhibition, “Visible Spectrum: Portraits from the World of Autism,” offers an intimate view of life with autism, as told from within an autism community, which includes Berridge and her son. It encourages an alternate way of seeing the condition, in which the diverse and unconventional perspectives of the autistic are… read more about Student-Curated Exhibition Explores Portraits from the World of Autism »
Deadline: October 23, 2024 The Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) seeks applications from current Duke faculty to become the Doc+ program director. The ideal candidate will have a record of community-engaged artistic practice and/or scholarship, teaching, the capacity to collaborate with peers and with staff and faculty across the university, and experience with academic service and/or community-building that demonstrates excellent potential for leadership. We are looking for an energetic person who… read more about Call for Applications: Doc+ Program Director, Center for Documentary Studies »
Portrait of Joel Fleishman by Alex Harris On September 30, Duke University lost a leader and scholar who made an outsized impact on the lives of so many members of our community. Joel L. Fleishman, professor of law and public policy, was a faculty member at Duke for more than half a century. The founding director of the Sanford School of Public Policy received the University Medal for Meritorious Service, one of Duke’s highest honors, in 2009.Among an extensive list of contributions… read more about A Remembrance of Joel Fleishman »
“Another world is not only possible; she is on her way. Maybe many of us won't be here to greet her, but on a quiet day, if I listen very carefully, I can hear her breathing.” ―Arundhati Roy, War TalkDocX Residency–Another World is Possible is intended to be that space — a space to breathe and imagine what Robin D. G. Kelley refers to as “the world not yet born.” We are inspired by Ruha Benjamin’s reminder to “image and craft the worlds you cannot live without, just as you dismantle… read more about Applications Open for DocX Residency–Another World is Possible »
Elizabeth M. Webb (Photo: Stew Milne for the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art) Atlanta-based artist and filmmaker Elizabeth M. Webb has been selected for the two-year Lehman Brady Visiting Joint Chair Professorship at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and the Department of American Studies at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. Webb’s work explores issues surrounding race and identity, often using the lens of her family history of migration and… read more about Elizabeth M. Webb Named 2024-26 Lehman Brady Visiting Professor at Duke and UNC »
Rwanda Reseen 100 Days is a nationwide photography exhibition about the people of Rwanda today Student, E.S. Bisesero Secondary School, Gishyiti, by Bill Bamberger When North Carolina photographer Bill Bamberger first traveled to Rwanda in 2013, it was to mark the looming 20th anniversary of the genocide the East African country experienced in 1994. “But as I looked through my lens while traveling across all five provinces, I did not see perpetrators or… read more about Thirty Years After Genocide, Scenes of Daily Life in Rwanda Show a Country Moving Forward »
Jacey Anderson Joining Duke University on July 1, Jacey Anderson will be the inaugural Bill and Lorna Chafe Postdoctoral Fellow in Oral History and Social Justice at the Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) and the Department of History. Anderson is an environmental historian who specializes in community-based participatory research methodologies. She earned her Ph.D. in history from Montana State University earlier this year. Anderson’s dissertation was a transnational comparative… read more about Introducing Jacey Anderson, Postdoc in Oral History and Social Justice »
First row: Andrew Cao, Angelica Moreno, Artivista Karlin; second row: Maxwell Simbuwa, Huiyin Zhou Five undergraduates have received 2024 John Hope Franklin Student Documentary Awards from the Center for Documentary Studies. Grants of up to $2,000 will support project-based documentary fieldwork and research over the summer. These awards are named for John Hope Franklin, the late professor emeritus of history at Duke, in recognition of his lifetime accomplishments and his dedication… read more about Students Receive Summer Funding for Documentary Projects From Minnesota to Zambia »
Duke faculty member Christopher W. Sims, a lauded photographer and artist, will be the next director of the Duke Center for Documentary Studies (CDS). Sims is associate professor of the practice in the Sanford School of Public Policy and in the Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies. He also teaches undergraduate courses at CDS and graduate courses in the MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts program, and is an instructor in the Duke-in-Berlin summer program. Through Fall 2023, Sims served as CDS’s… read more about Christopher Sims Named to Lead Center for Documentary Studies »
Clockwise from upper left, works by Anna Schilling, Clementine Biddle, Huiyin Zhou and Cate Knothe In the captivating Capstone seminar class collection, four distinct voices merge to explore themes of history, community, identity and memory through their artistic expressions. Anna Schilling’s project, titled “The Death of the Third Place,” addresses the erosion of communal gathering spots in contemporary society. Through her artwork, she advocates for the revitalization of these… read more about Four Distinct Voices From the Capstone Seminar in Documentary Studies »
Duke senior Staci Grimes is the winner of the 2024 Julia Harper Day Award for Documentary Studies. The sociology major, who will graduate with a Certificate in Documentary Studies, will receive a prize of $500. This award was created in 1992 in memory of Julia Harper Day, who was the Center for Documentary Studies’ first staff member as well as a photographer and writer. The annual award recognizes seniors who have demonstrated excellence in documentary studies and significantly… read more about Staci Grimes Receives Julia Harper Day Award for Documentary Studies »