Documentary art is considered to be art capable of showing reality, operating with real facts (excerpts from transcripts, newspapers, articles, protocols, photographs, slogans, leaflets, posters, etc.) and documents that become an artistic component. Such an appeal speaks of the desire of art to comprehend the processes of the social and spiritual life of society.

The direction was formed under the influence of technical means of information transmission (photography, print, radio, cinema, television) and includes independent documentary genres (features, diaries, essays, memoirs, art biographies, documentaries, reports, interviews, collages, etc.). Documentation has influenced the level of convergence between art and real life. During the perception of the work, emphasis is placed on the feeling of authenticity, trust in the viewer. One of the methods that allows to achieve this effect in modern viewers is a black-and-white frame, which is widely used in photography and feature films.

Now documentary art goes beyond the usual framework, interacts with other artistic means, and contributes to the development of fine arts. Artists can exaggerate a document, image or video using, for example, montage. The main function of such a tool is to enhance the authenticity and persuasiveness of the work, to activate the emotional and social experience of the individual and to appeal to deep aesthetic experiences. But an important factor is the complete exclusion of deliberate deformation and distortion of documentation. Reality in the documentary genre should be presented in its photographically accurate image, and the attitude of the artist towards it should be expressed through a system of artistic means. All this allows art to be a means of knowing the truth.

One of the representatives of the new dynamic generation of Belarusian photography is Alexander Kladov, a documentary photographer. He explores the young residents of the city of Minsk and their environment. The photographer tends to shoot reality, without dividing it into good and bad. Such a study shows not only the character and color of Belarusians, but also Belarus as a whole.

Igor Goncharuk works with documentary and artistic photography, video and archives. His projects focus on national identity, collective memory, and the impact of the media on the world. After the events in Belarus in 2020, he is working on a series of projects dedicated to propaganda and violence in the region from a historical point of view.

Maxim Sarychov works on visual projects at the intersection of photography, journalism and art. In his art, he explores the theme of violence of varying degrees in the expression and execution of authoritarian governments or traditional societies. It focuses on the political and human dimensions of collective memory and history.

In 2014, a documentary film by Belarusian director Anastasia Miroshnichenko "Crossroads" was shown. The film tells about the life of a homeless artist Valery Lyashkevich, who has been hiding at the Gomel railway station for more than 20 years, keeps his paints in a locker, sells his paintings in his hometown and travels to St. Petersburg every summer. There he also lives on the street, creates and sells his paintings.

Valery Lyashkevich's works are kept in the collections of the National Art Museum, the Museum of the Gomel Palace and Park Ensemble, the Zaslavl Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve, as well as in private collections in Belarus, Russia, Europe and the USA. The film won numerous international awards.

Maxim Shved is the director of the documentary film “Pure Art” (2019), which shows the birth of an art phenomenon (an ironic term for this phenomenon was given by art critic Olga Arkhipova as 'fuprematism'), shows modern Belarus and raises issues that are relevant not only for our country. Abstract artist Zakhar Kudin creates a series of paintings based on the practices of employees of Minsk ZhES, who paint graffiti, drawings and inscriptions on the walls of buildings with geometric spots. A white canvas travels through the streets of Minsk and tries to fit into the landscape of its native country, copying colorful rectangles. Intrigued passers-by, trying to interpret Zakhar's work, express their opinion not only about art.

Documentary art is not only a sign of aesthetic culture, but also a conductor of socio-political life and thoughts of society. Art is a reflection of life processes and circumstances, and in this sense, we can talk about the partial documentary nature of any work of art.