“Documenting digital art: re-thinking histories and practices of documentation in the museum and beyond” is a collaboration between leading researchers in the fields of performance and digital art documentation with world-leading museums, artists, and curators specialising in photography and digital art.
The project will analyse how digital art has been documented from the 1970s to the present day in museums and art galleries, looking at existing practices while also developing novel strategies for documenting, exhibiting and preserving digital art. The project, which aims to develop a framework for museums to capture audience engagement with digital artworks, will also look at documentation as a strategy for exhibition, preservation and public engagement.
The project will include an exhibition of computer art at the Venice Biennale curated by Dr Franco, a symposium and two workshops focused on the intersection of performance and digital art at LIMA, and other workshops and events about institutional practices on photographic documentation and audiences at The Photographers’ Gallery. Additionally, the research team will produce a book, a catalogue, articles, a white paper, conference papers, a documentation film, and a repository.
The three-year project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Paul Meller, Head of Creative Arts and Digital Humanities at the Arts and Humanities Research Council said: “We are pleased to fund this project, which not only supports museums but also has the potential to engage a wider audience with digital art.”