Artists & Culture
Films made with artists, galleries and cultural organisations
I make Artists & Culture Films about creative practice, performance, exhibition and collaboration. Patient, observational work that stays close to the process and the people behind it.
Selected Artists & Culture Films
Bookbinding Documentary Film: Binding the Bard
A short film following bookbinder Dominic Riley in his studio and the judging of an international First Folio binding competition at Palace Green Library, Durham.
Community Arts Film: Unfolding
A film documenting Dry Water Arts Centre’s Unfolding programme in Amble — 62 events, 94 volunteers and nearly 3,000 participants exploring what community looks and feels like.
Artist Documentary Film: Most Creative Station
A short documentary about artist commissions and creative interventions at Middlesbrough Railway Station, encouraging people to see the station and town in a new light.
Dance Documentary Film: Blue Wave on Roker Beach, 2022
A dance documentary film following Blue Wave, a Co/Lab Sunderland performance staged on Roker beach with FODI, Sangini and choreographer Constance Humphries.
Printmaker Rachael Clewlow
A short documentary about printmaker Rachael Clewlow and her practice, made for Northern Print.
Artist Residency Documentary Film: Illuminating the Self
A film following artists Susan Aldworth and Andrew Carnie as they made new work in response to CANDO, Newcastle University’s research into a light-based epilepsy treatment.
Creative Technology Video: FutureMakers
A short film documenting FutureMakers, a creative technology project exploring digital making and design with young people in the North East.
The Glossary Series: Seven Printmakers at Northern Print
Seven short documentary films for Northern Print’s Glossary exhibition, each following a different artist and printmaking technique, brought together in one place.
Music Documentary Film: Witness
A documentary following composer Scanner’s Witness project, tracing a single piece of music as it passed from memory to memory across County Durham.
How I work
Artists & Culture Films require a particular kind of attention. The work being documented is often already complete in itself — a performance, an exhibition, a creative process — and the film needs to find a way to exist alongside it rather than simply record it. That means staying quiet, moving carefully and resisting the temptation to over-explain what the camera can show.
The challenge with artists and culture films is often one of timing. Creative processes are not linear, and the most interesting moments rarely announce themselves. I try to be present enough to catch those moments without becoming a distraction from them. That might mean spending a morning in a studio before any filming begins, or returning to an exhibition space at different times of day to understand how the light and the atmosphere change. It might mean sitting with an edit for longer than feels comfortable, waiting for the right rhythm to emerge rather than forcing a structure onto material that has its own logic.
I work observationally, spending time with artists and cultural organisations before and during the filming process, building an understanding of what the work is actually about rather than what it might be reduced to in a caption. The edit is where that understanding becomes a film — where rhythm, pace and selection determine whether the work on screen still feels like itself.
Artists & Culture Films need to be useful — for funding reports, public engagement, documentation and archive — but they should also feel like something worth watching in their own right. I have made films with artists, composers, poets, printmakers, bookbinders, dancers, theatre companies, galleries and cultural organisations across the North East and beyond. Partners have included Northern Print, Navigator North, Sound and Music, Northumbria University, Co/Lab Sunderland and The Auckland Project. The work is not always documentary. For Rekindle, Amble Light Festival, I made projections from footage of the South Korean artist Misung Kim working with people in Amble.
Questions about Artists & Culture Films
What does an artist film usually involve?
Most of my Artists & Culture Films follow a process rather than a finished object. That might be a printmaker working through a single technique, a dance company performing on a beach, or a bookbinder at work in his studio. For Northern Print’s Glossary exhibition I made seven short films, each following a different printmaker and technique, which were shown as part of the exhibition itself. The aim is always to let the work explain itself, with as little narration as possible.
Can you film an exhibition install, a performance or a live event?
Yes. I have filmed installs, openings, performances and festivals, often working around the public and around work that cannot be paused or repeated. Blue Wave was a dance performance staged on Roker beach for Co/Lab Sunderland. Most Creative Station followed artist commissions at Middlesbrough Railway Station for Navigator North. Witness followed the composer Scanner’s project for Durham Brass Festival as a piece of music passed from memory to memory across County Durham. With live work I plan carefully beforehand, because the moment will not come round again.
Do you work directly with artists, or only with organisations?
Both. Some Artists & Culture Films are commissioned by galleries, festivals and arts organisations, and some come from working with an artist directly. I followed the artists Susan Aldworth and Andrew Carnie through a residency with Newcastle University’s CANDO research project, and I have made film-poems with the poet Tony Williams. When an organisation commissions the film, I still spend time with the artist first, so the film reflects their work as they understand it rather than as a caption describes it.
How long does an artist film take to make?
It depends on the work. As a rule of thumb, each day of filming takes around three days to edit, though it can be quicker depending on the project and what the film needs to do. A short film about one artist’s process might be filmed over a day or two in the studio. A film that follows a residency, an exhibition from install to opening, or a programme of events can run over weeks or months, with filming fitted around the work rather than the other way round. The schedule is always agreed together before anything begins.
How are the films used once they are finished?
In lots of ways. Artists & Culture Films are shown inside exhibitions, at screenings and festivals, on websites and social channels, and in reports to funders. Witness premiered at the Gala Cinema in Durham as part of Durham Brass Festival, and the projections I made for Rekindle were shown at Amble Light Festival. The films also become part of an artist’s or organisation’s archive, a record of work that was often temporary. I usually deliver a main film and, where it helps, shorter edits for online use.
Where do you work?
I am based in Newcastle and Gateshead and work across the North East, from Amble and Northumberland to Sunderland, Durham and Middlesbrough, and further afield when a project needs it. You can see every film by year in the full timeline of films.
Types of work
Artists & Culture Films about creative process, exhibition and gallery documentation. Theatre and performance films. Dance and choreography films. Music and composer documentaries. Film poetry and experimental short forms. Public art documentation. Cultural partnership films. Films for funding reports, public engagement and archive.
Planning a film about an artist, exhibition or cultural project?
I work with artists, galleries, theatres, composers and cultural organisations to make films that stay close to the work. If you are planning a film that needs care, patience and a genuine understanding of what you are making, I would be happy to talk.
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