Bridging the gap for the long-term sustainability of multimedia artworks in between music and the visual arts
Post-doctoral project

No one talks about, researches, teaches or exhibits/ presents multimedia works or other sorts of artistic creations (especially those performance-based, intangible, ephemeral or born-digital), that are not preserved through documentation, simply because they disappear. This happens firstly because they do not have any material support with which to enter into dialogue, and secondly for our memory is volatile and precarious, hence the need for the establishment of a musical notation or other sorts of documentation capable of materializing the immaterial, allowing artworks to pass on from the past to the present and the future. Thus, taking the issue of preservation is of the utmost urgency and importance for the maintenance of our cultural heritage and in particular for the long-term sustainability of multimedia artworks, which are being neglected and forgotten, with their future remaining uncertain.

Given the similar performance-based nature of many contemporary visual artworks (e.g., installations, time-based media, performance, software, net art, etc.) and musical compositions (e.g., electroacoustic, live electronic and computer music, etc.), a cross fertilization of the preservation practices applied to contemporary artworks in the fields of visual arts and music could be fruitful for both domains, and especially for the sustainability of multimedia artworks created in between these artistic spaces (those targeted by this study).

In this context, the ARTinBetween project will be based on an interdisciplinary and pioneering approach on the interplay of contemporary art and contemporary music preservation practices. In this case by studying selected multimedia artworks created from the 60s onwards by Portuguese artists and/or composers and by implementing:

· a creative conservation approach with conservators (much as musical interpreters) assuming their authorship in the preservation and presentation of our cultural heritage, through a deep reflection on the articulation between traditional and creative conservation.

· a smart conservation approach, for the development of a more sustainable practice by strengthening stakeholders’ sense of belonging through a continuous engagement with society and through better promotion, in this case materialized in a series of Smart Talks.

Furthermore, the ARTinBetween project is aligned i) with the UN 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development (goals 10 [reduced inequalities] and 11 [sustainable cities and communities]) by reflecting upon the Portuguese realm, usually absent from academic international debates and by introducing better communication and sustainable practices; and ii) with the Horizon Europe programme (cluster 2 - particularly with the destination 2: “Cultural Heritage and Cultural and Creative Industries”), by providing for a future cultural identity much richer, embracing, inclusive, sustainable and creative.