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ARTIST’S SELFARCHIVING TOOLKIT Erin Brannigan
This is a practical introduction for artists getting organised for self-archiving. There are many excellent online tools which are listed at the end of the document that I have drawn from. Whether you are chipping away in stolen moments or have some dedicated time for archiving, the most important thing is to have a plan and an end-game: what’s important to you, what’s useful for the broader community, and what you can feasibly manage with your resources. Also be prepared for the emotional journey – that was a message that has come back from the artists involved in the Dancing Sydney Archive Project.
1. WHERE WILL YOUR ARCHIVE LIVE? There are likely to be materials already out there in the world that refer to your body of work. Researching yourself online reveals where most of these exist and might give you a sense of where your more complete archive belongs. The primary homes for dance-based collections are libraries and museums. Some larger companies also have their own foundations and trusts, and with the passing of many giants of the contemporary dance world recently, these are innovating rapidly (eg. Merce Cunningham Trust, Trisha Brown Archive, Pina Bausch Foundation). Australian companies are following suit and turning their attention to their archives, including Lucy Guerin Inc, Sydney Dance Company and Chunky Move. As an artist, you should identify the most suitable repository for your materials and enter into dialogue with them before you put too much work into organising your materials. They can appraise your collection and advise on its appropriateness for their holdings. This will also save reworking data into new formats, and clarify what a given institution will take.
