Online
December 16, 2020–March 7, 2021
Two-month intensive professional training—international & interdisciplinary
Media Art is increasingly common in museums and archives, galleries and private collections, and other more unexpected places. However, significant loss threatens this art form due to rapid technological obsolescence and insufficient documentation strategies. The special needs required to care for this valuable and fragile heritage is slowly becoming obvious. Understanding the tenets of media art preservation is no longer a niche, but useful skills and knowledge in an expanding field.
To contribute to the development of this expertise the Danube University Krems is pleased to offer a professional training institute introducing fundamental concepts for the preservation of media art. This workshop brings together knowledge and experience in conservation & documentation from experts in both institutional and private practice. Interacting with a varied group of participants, the institute will facilitate a mix of clearly structured lectures, practical exercises and lively group discussions. Resource materials and deep case-study exchange enable future practical use.
The activities will give participants the opportunity to learn about the materials of media art, the risks for their preservation, and the strategies available for some of the specific media, such as audio, video interfaces or software. Participants will also learn about different methods and aims of documentation, and some of the varied approaches being used in the field.
The two-month institute brings together the critical mass of expertise with representation from Media Art History, archiving, artists’ preservation of collected works, and both conservation and restoration taking place in collecting institutions and freelance.
Online blocks are limited to two hours each, maximum of two per week. Giving time for reading and research between blocks, and well as accommodating reasonable expectations for online information acquisition.
Some lectures are open to the greater public, while others offer deeper discussion opportunities focused on smaller group interaction. Thus, the range of didactic engagement enables meaningful online training for international participants.
Faculty
Oliver Grau: Chair Professor in Image Science, founder of the Archive of Digital Art. Related books include Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion, 2003; MediaArtHistories, 2007; and Museum and Archive on the Move, 2018.
Wendy Coones: Danube University academic staff since 2005 responsible for curricula development, teaching, and support of research initiatives related to digital cultural life and its histories.
Patricia Falcao: Time-based Media Conservator at the Tate Modern with a broad interest in the preservation of digital components of contemporary artworks
Laurent Mignonneau: Internationally renowned media artist in the field of interactive computer installation and professor at the University of Art and Design in Linz Austria.
Andreas Weisser: Conservator & Restorer of audiovisual media. Freelance consultant for archive analysis and digitization for sustainable digitization strategies.
Florian Wiencek: Expert on the interface of Digital Media and Cultural Learning and practices of mediation of art and culture in the digital age.
Diego Mellado: Engineer for new media arts and media art restoration, researcher focusing on technical solutions and documentation models for software-based artworks.
Knowledge, skills and competencies:
–Advanced knowledge on definitions of components of time-based media artworks
–Understand how to evaluate risks for the preservation of specific works
–Evaluate advantages and limitations of different preservation approaches
–Understand the issues and relevance of digital preservation
–Recognize and analyze risks and advantages of different preservation techniques.
–Analyze and implement the elements of documentation for preservation necessities
Target group
Anyone involved with cultural, collecting or archiving institutions. Conservators and conservation students & lecturers, AV technicians, media artists, archivists, registrars, curators, collectors. Researchers in art history, media studies, (media) archeology or digital cultural heritage.
Cooperations
Archive of Digital Art; Arts & Digital Humanities Lab of DUKrems; LeFo Project “Teaching and Research infrastructure for Digital Arts in Higher Ed“
