Who Will Be the Keeper? – Keeping Track of Art

Art that falls outside the institutional system and operates under unique conditions – sometimes referred to as avantgarde, alternative, experimental or independent art – is documented mostly as a result of grassroots initiatives, through self-organisation and with few resources. In the absence of resources, support or motivation, documents and data on artworks and events may be incomplete or not recorded at all. Since the 1990s, cultural institutions have undergone a gradual transformation, while the widespread availability of the internet has also radically increased the range of possibilities. Nonetheless, documenting and researching independent art have constituted a complex problem in Central and Eastern Europe for decades. 

Retrospectively seeking and organising sources, along with maintaining and modernising digital platforms, are also often met with fundamental technical, infrastructural and funding difficulties. What is the current state of independent art archives, databases and registers in Hungary and internationally, and to what extent are they visible? Who uses them and for what purpose? Can art archives even be separated from other historical source bases in the first place, and why should they be considered separately?

At the 11th event of Find a Treasure, participants with various ties to the subject matter – be it through research, artistic creation, project management, education, museology or curatorial endeavours – will explore from the perspective of users and service providers the uncovering and storage of research documents and data related to the visual and performing arts, as well as the systems and technical peculiarities involved.

The programme is available in Hungarian. 

Participants of the roundtable discussion include:

Balázs Beöthy – visual artist, member of the COURAGE project, editor-in-chief of exindex

György Cséka – aesthetician, art critic, head of department (Museum of Fine Arts – Central European Research Institute for Art History (KEMKI) – Artpool Art Research Centre)

Orsolya Ring – historian, senior research fellow at the Centre for Social Sciences, Institute for Political Science, assistant professor at the Institute of Historical Studies, ELTE Faculty of Humanities (BTK), researcher of the Missing Theatre Histories (HIASZT) project

Moderator: Zsófia Frazon – ethnographer, museologist (Museum of Ethnography, MaDok Program)

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Find a Treasure is a series of educational events of the HUN-REN ARP Project (https://researchdata.hu/en). During the round table discussions, we will explore different topics related to research data and repositing data with the involvement of invited experts.

Admission is free of charge and does not require registration. Audio and video recordings will be made during the event. For questions, please contact HUN-REN ARP staff at support@researchdata.hu.