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  4. School of Communication, Society and Culture
  5. Our research
  6. Our research labs
  7. Creative Documentary Research Lab
Discover the research our school is currently undertaking

Investigating the possibilities of the documentary

The Macquarie University Creative Documentary Research Lab (CDRL) supports innovative and diverse production and scholarship investigating the nature of the documentary form.

Our mission is to generate and communicate knowledge that can only be secured through creatively practiced documentary forms.

The CDRL supports the creative productions of its members and research students across all documentary media. As a community of practice, we host events – such as symposia, screenings, conferences and workshops – and provide mentorship and an institutional base for projects.

We work with: A man on a boat at sea

  • archival media and documents
  • observational, investigative and ethnographic methods
  • other creative modes of apprehending the world
  • non-fiction, re-enactment, fabulation and speculative forms
  • screen and audio media
  • virtual and immersive worlds
  • writing and performing arts.

About us

Scholars and practitioners within the CDRL bring perspectives and expertise from across the creative arts, humanities and sciences, including:

  • social, digital, medical, environmental and health sciences
  • media, writing, creative arts and performance.

The CDRL encourages the investigation of documentary methods that explore, represent and critically engage the world in sensory, kinetic, emotional and embodied ways that are often overlooked in traditional scholarship.

The CDRL brings scholars, practitioners, industry-stakeholders and the public together in festivals, workshops and public lectures. We develop and support:

  • impactful policy across a range of relevant domains
  • innovative and creative projects in diverse media forms
  • resources, capabilities, communities and conversations.

Collaborate with us

We aim to push the boundaries of documentary forms and technologies to create impactful research, stories and innovative knowledge through project partnerships across the:

  • broadcasting, screen and performing arts
  • galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) sector.

With access to some of the best audio-visual research infrastructure in Australia, the Macquarie University Creative Documentary Research Lab is open to new projects and partnerships that build and extend our capacity across the areas of our expertise.

First developed as a research stream within the Faculty of Arts in 2016, the CDRL has existed as both a research lab and faculty centre since 2018. In 2023 we staged a major research festival in conjunction with the State Library of NSW.

Our membership is drawn from across the humanities with partnerships and projects supported by:

  • cultural funds from European governments
  • the Australian Research Council
  • GLAM sector partners
  • cultural and performing arts organisations
  • a range of domestic and international tertiary partners and fellowships.

We have made representations to government on screen industry policy, and our collective research has looked into:

  • the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in creative arts practice and the media
  • technological advances in screen practice
  • immersive and VR media
  • authorship, editing and collaboration
  • a diverse range of other subjects that include educational practice, colonialism and the history of audio-visual practice.

All our people are members of the School of Communication, Society and Culture (SCSC) unless otherwise stated.

Directors
Stream members