Discovering Collections, Discovering Communities (DCDC) conference

Who is DCDC for?

We welcome archives, libraries, special collections, museums, galleries, heritage organisations, academics, independent research organisations, charitable and community organisations, and research support and impact professionals to attend the event. These may include:

• Archivists
• Librarians
• Higher education (HE) professionals
• Postgraduate students
• Cultural heritage professionals and practitioners
• Early career researchers, practitioners, and professionals
• Digital practitioners
• Digital and cultural consultants

Past events

DCDC25

DCDC25 was a hybrid conference at Durham University and online that invited GLAMA professionals to come together under the theme ‘Choose Your Own Future’.

Highlights of DCDC25 included a full programme of in-person and online content, visits to local cultural heritage sites in Durham, gamification, and a showcase of local GLAMA organisations in the History Day North exhibition.

The conference keynote addresses were delivered by Professor Katy Shaw, director of the AHRC Creative Communities, Tom Cramer, founder of the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF), National HIV Story Trust co-founders Nick Thorogood and Paul Coleman, and a plenary panel featuring Désirée Reynolds (Creative Director, Dig Where You Stand), Dr. Aleema Gray (Founder, House of Dread), and Jess and Matt Turtle (co-founders, Museum of Homelessness).

DCDC23

DCDC23 explored the challenges of navigating the interplay between the physical and the virtual, the ‘materiality’ of physical collections and digital interventions. These conversations built on the radical reimagining of how we work in the GLAMA sector following the pandemic, from the way we collaborate, and engage with our communities, as well as the skills and tools we use which have all changed substantially.

DCDC22

DCDC22 showcased how digital innovation is transforming the cultural heritage and academic sectors and their relationship with their audiences. From individual projects to national programmes, for organisations and groups large and small, we examined the opportunities and challenges that digital technologies and collaboration can offer.

DCDC21

The DCDC21 conference explored how crisis can act as a catalyst for change within libraries, archives, museums and cultural organisations. It looked at the impact that crisis can have on working practices, collections and audience engagement, and how periods of turbulence can lead to new opportunities for research and collaboration. It also examined how cultural heritage organisations can look beyond times of crisis and foster innovation and collaboration in their institutions and communities.