Art Archives Study. Before and After 2004. Conclusion

Looking back at the end of the two year project Art Archives Study. Before and After 2004, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, the project partners, basis wien – Documentation Centre for Contemporary Art (Vienna, Austria), The Archive of Fine Arts (Prague, Czech Republic), and Moderna galerija’s Archives Department (Ljubljana, Slovenia) have drawn positive conclusions from their endeavours.

     The decision to combine different research approaches (classical research in the archives, oral history interviews and statistical data analysis) proved a good one, each outcome enhancing and supporting the other, opening different perspectives on how the EU enlargement in 2004 influenced contemporary art practices and its context within the regions represented by the archives

     Research from the archives' collections brought to light numerous documents connected to exhibitions that engaged with the EU enlargement.

     An overview of discussed events and material from the Archive of Fine Arts in Prague can be found here: https://en.isabart.org/term/8277

     A portion of the research materials was also exhibited at basis wien during the international conference I REMEMBER THIS. Documents from the archive and library were shown in their usual storage place, using the archival furniture and library shelves as displays. The physical materials were contextualized by way of a room plan, linking directly to the online database via QR codes.

     To complement and deepen the insights based on the archival research, oral history interviews were conducted with several key figures providing different perspectives on collaborations and connections between artists, curators, institutions, non-governmental organisations, archives, and art markets in an evolving context.

     The interviews were added to the archive’s holdings and databases, where they can be accessed by researchers. In addition, a brochure containing all 9 interviews were conducted in English during the project was published by Moderna galerija. The publication includes a map showcasing selected curators, artists, art critics, institutions, foundations, venues, collections, exhibitions, and projects referenced throughout the brochure.

     The third avenue of research was based on the three archives’ vast collections of structured metadata acquired during decades of database-supported archiving. The queries and subsequent data analysis provided evidence supporting the thesis that the EU enlargement has resulted in greater artistic mobility between the respective countries, and also yielded valuable insights into the partners' data repositories.

     The results were shared and discussed with archive professionals during the dialogical workshop Archival Methods in Practice: Data Visualisation, Material Research and Oral History as part of the annual meeting of European-art.net. A detailed description of the methodology, results for each archive, visualisations and more can be found in the downloadable brochure Art Archives Study. Before and after 2004. Queries.

     With the international conference I REMEMBER THIS the research was expanded beyond the boundaries of the participating archives. The speakers at the conference consisted of renowned theorists, artists, curators, and young scientists who were reached via an open call. This group of speakers, drawn from different areas of the art field, greatly enriched perspectives on the topic.

     The hybrid conference brought together an audience of over 80 international scholars, artists, archivists, theorists, students and interested public at basis wien, fostering a dynamic exchange of experiences and insights.

     In addition, the archive holdings were able to grow through this direct exchange, for example the basis wien archive was able to greatly expand its holdings on Tanja Ostojić. An expansion that will remain researchable beyond the duration of the project.

         The documentation of all project activities will be stored by the participating archives and made available through their databases where possible. The insights gained by the partners over the course of the project will also be incorporated into the development of new databases by the partners and the collaboration of European-art.net.

Image: Visualisation of connections between exhibitions and persons using Graph Commons