Documenting cultural heritage sites and objects to the highest possible standards.

Factum Foundation was asked by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) to create a high-resolution reproduction of the Carta de la fuesa, a 16th-century Morisco document discovered in 1993 hidden within the walls of a private home in Morata de Jalón, Zaragoza. Using the Selene Photometric Stereo System, the document was digitised in high resolution to capture its surface relief and its materiality. From this data, a three-dimensional facsimile was produced, replicating the original’s texture, calligraphy, and sculptural qualities with extraordinary fidelity.

The original will be part of the upcoming exhibition ‘Los Latidos del Corán: La vida del libro sagrado entre mudéjares y moriscos’ (‘Heartbeats of the Qur’an: The Life of the Sacred Book among Mudéjars and Moriscos’) at the Hospital Real de Granada (11 June – 31 October 2025). The exhibition will also feature a 1:1 scale print of the 3D and colour data from the mihrab in the Oratory of the Palacio de la Madraza, recorded by Factum Foundation in January 2025. The Oratory’s complex history of conservation can be studied in the intricate relief of the plasterwork on its walls. As one of the finest examples of Nasrid art outside the Alhambra, these relief carvings represent an architecture that can be interpreted on multiple levels.

In May a team from Factum Foundation, working in Athens, recorded an ivory comb for the Benaki Museum. The exquisite object has a personification of Rome on one side and Constantinople on the other, and was probably made in Alexandria in the 5th or 6th century. The movement and exhibition of ivory is highly controlled. As a result, objects like this comb can be overlooked.

Factum will make an exact facsimile in a simulated ivory that can take the place of the original in touring exhibitions.

Factum Foundation is proud to announce that the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia is joining the Selene Circle. The upcoming installation of the Selene Photometric Stereo System at a new dedicated space will expand the possibilities for high-resolution surface digitisation of their collection. This exciting collaboration extends Factum Foundation’s aim to contribute to the conservation, study and dissemination of cultural heritage through the design and application of recording systems that treat works of art as material evidence and not simply images.

Over the past two months, work has continued on the physical as well as the historical reconstruction of the Merz Barn and Cylinders Estate. In early April, Ferdinand Saumarez Smith visited the artist Stephen Buckley in St Leonard’s to hear his recollections of visiting the Merz Barn with Joe Tilson in 1963 (prior to the removal of the wall), whilst he was a student of Richard Hamilton at Newcastle.

A lesser known member of the Cylinders constellation was Gwyneth Alban Davis, who lived in a caravan at the Langdale Estate and was printing under the name of the Caravan Press in the Shippon whilst Schwitters was sculpting the Merz Barn relief. Now that Grizedale Arts has been awarded the Ampersand Foundation Prize 2025, work to transform the Shippon back into a print workshop will accelerate.

Factum’s carpenter Tom Don installed restored windows in the Shippon in May. He continued lime plastering areas where cement render was removed. At the same time, a team of volunteers supervised by Grizedale Arts removed the brambles on the site and Mike Hodgson, a local builder, is about to begin the renovation of the near-collapsed roof of the lean-to extension to the Shippon. Mike Edmondson, who farms in Langdale, will be removing the concrete floor of the ‘milking’ section of the Shippon.

From 26 to 31 May 2025, the AaltoSiilo transformed the neighbourhood of Meri-Toppila into a hub of creativity and community. Supported by Oulu2026 and several European partners, the “Revitalize Meri-Toppila” workshop brought together students, professionals, artists, and local residents to design and build a Pop-Up Cultural Park that will remain open throughout the summer 2025 in a depressing car park in front of the Silo, that occupies the centre of Meri Toppila.

Over 70 participants from Finland, France, the UK, and Latvia worked side by side with local residents (from Finland, Sri Lanka, Iran and Egypt) and international architects to produce designs developed over several months of online collaboration. Structures were built on-site throughout the week using reclaimed materials. The workshop also included architectural walks, seminars and creative workshops. The closing festival of this creative week took place on 31 May featuring music, dance,  and a surprise performance by a world champion air guitarist.

Factum Foundation, Skene Catling de la Peña and AaltoSiilo Ry wish to thank all our partners and supporters. This international and local collaboration brought new life to Meri-Toppila, demonstrating the power of community, creativity, and cultural heritage and the values of the New European Bauhaus: sustainability, community, and creativity.