ICOM-CC Panel on Managing Collections of Software-based Art
Patricia Falcao
ICOM-CC is pleased to announce an upcoming online event - part of the ICOM-CC Modern Materials Contemporary Art Virtual Gathering: Topic Series.
Panel: Managing collections of software-based art
Date: Tuesday, June 17th, 2025
Time: 5 PM CEST Paris - Amsterdam - Stuttgart / 4 PM London / 11 AM NYC / 8 AM Los Angeles
This event will take approximately 1.5 hours, and will be held on Zoom
Here is the link to register: https://forms.gle/REDCMB6Nuf2ieh6k6
Please register for the EVENT by June, 15th, 2025
Event Description:
Software-based art is particularly fragile and as a result, collecting it presents a significant challenge. The actions needed to preserve these works are myriad, resource-intensive in many ways, and difficult to accomplish under the best circumstances. Moreover, the interdependence between technologies, the rapid pace of technological change, and the barriers erected by commercial interests may make collecting these works in the traditional sense all but impossible. Object-focused conservation is often undertaken at intervals determined by schedules of exhibitions or loans, which can be appropriate for artworks in some media but is problematic for software-based art, which cannot survive long periods of passive storage. What, then, are the efforts that conservators and institutions can undertake at the collection level or even at the community level to sustain these works?
This session will touch on collection-level strategies for software-based art conservation including:
- Intake processes and priorities
- Collection monitoring strategies
- Management of obsolete equipment pools
- Preservation of computing environments and supporting software
- Storage and digital preservation
- Networks of care and collaboration
Rather than focusing on the care and treatment of individual works, holistic collection care methods will be emphasized. The short presentations by panelists will be followed by Q&A designed to foster exchange and discussion of shared challenges.
The Working Group Assistant Coordinator Amy Brost (Associate Media Conservator, Museum of Modern Art, New York) will conduct the conversation with the following panelists:
Dragan Espenschied, Preservation Director, Rhizome
Patricia Falcão, Media conservator, Tate
Claudia Roeck, Time-based media conservator, House of Electronic Arts, Basel and Art Museum Basel
For panelist bios and event information, please visit our webpage: https://www.icom-cc.org/en/news/icom-cc-modern-materials-and-contemporary-art-virtual-gathering-topic-series)
The event will be opened by the ICOM-CC Chair Kate Seymour and introduced by the ICOM-CC Modern Materials and Contemporary Art Working Group Coordinator Anna Laganà.
Registered participants will receive a Zoom meeting link shortly before the event.
We hope for a rich discussion and encourage everyone to participate if possible. Please share this announcement with your colleagues and anyone who might be interested!
Hope to see you all on Tuesday, June 17th!
Patricia Falcão