Workshop on New Media Art Archiving

The New Media Art Archives Network is presenting the first Workshop on New Media Art Archiving (WNMAA) to be held from February 5th to 8th, 2025, at the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany

Since 2020, the annual Summit on New Media Art Archiving (SNMAA) has become an important forum for advancing the preservation of new media art archives through open collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Building on the discussions and knowledge exchanged at previous Summits, this workshop at ZKM will adopt a hands-on approach to addressing key debates and exploring innovative methods and technologies in New Media Art archiving.  The workshop seeks to deepen interdisciplinary collaboration and foster the creation of a globally interconnected network of new media art archives.

Background

Preserving media arts and their contexts is essential for safeguarding cultural heritage and ensuring that future generations can access and appreciate this unique form of artistic expression. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of online archives dedicated to New Media Art,  yet these repositories largely operate in isolation. Despite ongoing efforts to preserve and disseminate information about new media art artists and artworks, the lack of interconnectivity between these archives presents a significant challenge.  The New Media Art Archiving initiative began with initial discussions in 2018 and took shape in a series of four summits in Montreal, Barcelona, Paris, and Brisbane over the following 5 years. The current network includes both independent researchers and representatives from international archives, such as the ACM SIGGRAPH History Archive, Archive of Digital Art (ADA), Ars Electronica, FILE (Electronic Language International Festival), ISEA Symposium Archives, MEMODUCT, and ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe.

Goal

Building on the discussions from the Summit on New Media Art Archiving series regularly held at the ISEA symposia, this workshop will convene experts, practitioners, and stakeholders to explore strategies and best practices for globally connecting new media art archives. The goal is to establish a comprehensive knowledge-base and foster a network of experts dedicated to advancing New Media Art archiving. We hope to develop solutions that will lead to the creation of a framework for a globally connected network of archives.

Dates and Location of the WNMAA

Date: February 5–8, 2025
Location: ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany