“Acts of Memory,” a 28-minute film by artist Mairéad McClean, has won the prestigious Curator’s Award at the 2024 Kinoskop Film Festival. The film, shot on 16mm, explores the intersection of cinematic and national history, retelling the story of the Public Record Office of Ireland, which was lost during the Irish Civil War, and its virtual reconstruction a century later through the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland (Virtualtreasury.ie).
The research for the film was conducted during McClean’s residency with the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland as part of the Decade of Centenaries Programme, in collaboration with the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute.
The Kinoskop Festival, based in Belgrade, is known for its celebration of analog experimental cinema in the digital age, showcasing films that challenge traditional cinematic forms.
For more information on McClean’s work, visit maireadmmclean.com.
The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland is an all-island and international collaborative research project, funded by the Department of Culture under the Decade of Centenaries Programme (2012 – 2023), working to create a virtual reconstruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland destroyed in the opening engagement of the Civil War on June 30th, 1922. From its inception the project has involved Computer Science research, along with research in History and Archival Studies, to provide greater access to Ireland’s deep history.
