Archiving the Arts

Independent Media Arts Preservation (IMAP) celebrates the launch of its new web resource Archiving the Arts and the recent publication of The Emergence of Video Processing Tools (eds., Kathy High, Mona Jimenez, Sherry Miller Hocking) with a symposium and public program on June 13, 2015 at Burchfield Penney Art Center, SUNY Buffalo State.

Artists working with video, audio, and digital materials face unique challenges. Conventional archival practices for the care of electronic media do not take into account the need for many artists to maintain earlier works and raw material for their ongoing practice—in other words, the need for a true “working archive.” To date, there are few organized projects addressing these specific issues, and a dearth of resources for archivists and artists to discuss and debate shared challenges. Hence, Archiving the Arts seeks to bridge the gap between artists and archivists, by creating a series of convening events, public programs and a web resource devoted to creating dialogue between these two communities. The website will contain five in-depth case studies that cover a range of preservation efforts.

The symposium will highlight the Archiving the Arts audiovisual preservation case studies, and offer a platform to stakeholders for networking and information exchange. Target participants are professionals and students with some level of expertise in audiovisual preservation. Conveners and facilitators include Andrew Ingall, Executive Director of IMAP), Archivist and Time-Based Art Conservator Jeff Martin, and Carolyn Tennant, Director of Archives & Migrating Media at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center.

Fees:
General Admission: $150
IMAP Members, BPAC Members: $100
Artists and Students: $50

Inquiries:imap@imappreserve.org
Register at www.imappreserve.org/join/membership.html

Please note that registration is limited to 50 participants on a first-come, first-served
basis.

More details on schedule and presenters here: http://imappreserve.org/educ/pdf/imap-AtAsymposiumannouncement.pdf

Television Becoming Unglued

Public screening (no registration required)

7:00 PM
 – 9:00 PM

Peter and Elizabeth Tower Auditorium

In collaboration with Independent Media Arts Preservation (IMAP), the Burchfield Penney Art Center is pleased to host a public program and the Western New York book launch for THE EMERGENCE OF VIDEO PROCESSING TOOLS (Intellect, 2014), edited by Kathy High, Sherry Miller Hocking and Mona Jimenez. An investigation of the pioneering and collaborative work of media artists and technologists during the late 1960s and '70s, the two volume text features contributions from engineers, artists, historians and theorists, and provides a context for both the culture and the counterculture that drove the invention of production tools and inspired subsequent generations of contemporary artists. Throughout the book are links to the Upstate NY community, where activities occurred in spaces such as the Experimental Television Center (ETC) that housed an elaborate system designed for artists to produce videos using techniques unavailable to those outside of television studios. In addition to a conversation with the book's editors and contributors, the evening will feature screenings of video art from the compilation Experimental Television Center 1969-2009, produced by Sherry Miller Hocking, that demonstrate the use of technology discussed in the book. The compilation features work by over100 ETC resident artists, several of which were preserved by The StandbyProgram and are now accessible through the Rose Goldsen Archive of NewMedia Art at Cornell University. 

Independent Media Arts Preservation (IMAP) serves the caretakers of media collections by providing information resources to help preserve our cultural heritage. IMAP offers innovative solutions through information sharing, continuing education and networking opportunities. IMAP receives generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts, individual donors, and funds from the Media Arts Assistance Fund, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts, Electronic Media and Film, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; administered by Wave Farm.