Author: Emma Brent

Survival Kits for the Future of Media Preservation

Prior to the session, the speakers were prompted to think about guidelines, or a ‘survival toolkit,’ made up of essential knowledge for others in the field of art and heritage. Each speaker took a different approach to presenting their survival kit, however there was the common thread of personal significance, showing how inextricable the individual is to their respective work processes and/or organisations. Another commonality was the necessity of making connections and being situated within a network. Wijers explicitly noted her network as the first item in her survival kit and emphasised a collaborative, distributive way of working “so not all of us have to start from scratch.”

As moderator, Vugts first offered a comprehensive structure for how we may think about knowledge and its transference in this context. She established the importance of thinking and working within the same framework and having a shared understanding of the applicable forms of knowledge at hand. She also brought forth the role of change with regards to legacy and the process of knowledge transference, asking: “may someone take over, will we let them?” These questions link to Barok presenting his experience as founding editor of Monoskop and questioning who would want to take over, and later, how an institution could. 

Articulating What You Know 

Each speaker is the holder of specialised knowledge that in many ways can be read as embodied – constituting a part of them as individuals. During Wijers’ introduction she expressed that her initial response to the subject of the session is “Ask Paulien,” referring to fellow panellist ‘t Hoen for her expertise in the field. The question is how to distill decades worth of knowledge assemblage into a vessel that can carry this expertise along. The survival kits provide a solid point of departure but articulating the boundaries of this form appears more complicated.

During the discussion with the audience, the form of (written) documentation was brought under question. An audience member inquired about how the panellists see the relationship between knowledge transfer and paperwork as a product, describing how often the ways in which a project is formalised through documentation is done so to appeal to external stakeholders like funders, differing greatly from the experience of internal project contributors. Röck stressed that because of technological obsolescence, certain forms of documentation are integral to her practice as a time-based art conservator. Wijers’ response to the question was that often this type of documentation becomes disposable, as in reality there is no time or desire to read hundred-paged documents about an artwork or project, and instead the question becomes: “how can we overcome the production of all the information that is needed?” 

Transferring Knowledge

Like other preservation processes, a decided-upon focus on knowledge transfer and a subsequent selection of material is required. ‘t Hoen shared that for her it has been important to be transparent and precise about what she has done and her processes throughout her career. Additionally reflecting on how her ways of thinking have changed over the years. Another suggestion in the room was to think of household appliance manuals as a template – singular documents containing a plethora of information from which the user usually only needs to know one or two things. In this way, knowledge transfer becomes about organising and editing. 

One of the last audience remarks recalled a line from the SMBK information video that ‘t Hoen screened as part of her presentation. It shows the Dutch artist Constant (Nieuwenhuys) proclaiming “Iedereen maakt zijn eigen wetten,” translated into English as “Everyone makes their own laws.” While this phrase evoked laughs from the audience, it suitably speaks to the reality that strategies of knowledge transference are multiple. Similarly, this connects to a statement made by Vugt during her presentation: “A successful network lives by diversity.” 

As a closing point, Wijers mentioned the significance in remembering how much has happened in the last 30 years concerning media art conservation. All the panellists, having made great contributions to this development, referred to relationships – being embedded in a network – as integral to their practice and legacy. Here, networks are both included in one’s legacy – as a form of knowledge to be transmitted – and supporting the process of that transference. The symposium session offered a moment to reflect together on what it means to pass on expertise, showing the process to be multiple and (re)iterative, and thereby opening a space for continuing to think together and build within current and expanding networks.   

 

Emma Brent is a graduate of the MA in Archival and Information Studies (Media Studies) from the University of Amsterdam.

Keywords: TDA 2025, digital art preservation, knowledge practices, knowledge transference, networks

Header image: Gaby Wijers, Paulien 't Hoen, Claudia Röck, Dusan Barok, Agnes Vugts. Transformation Digital Art 2025, 21 March. Photo by Alex Heuvink