Preserving your Practice: Archiving for Artists (from DIY to Deluxe)

Facilitated by Maya Pasternak & ellen belshaw
Tuesday, June 13  from 6:30pm-8pm

Please note:

• The workshop will be delivered in English, questions can be facilitated in French and Hebrew
• Space in the workshop is limited, reserve your spot here!

Description:

Facilitated by artists/curators/archivists Maya Pasternak and ellen belshaw, this workshop will be divided into two parts: a collaborative presentation on archival best practices for artists, and a seminar-style conversation with the facilitators for participants to assess their individual archiving needs. 

The presentation will cover general archival best practices for storing and caring for different types of works, both physical and digital. It will include a range of solutions for different budgets, from DIY artists with next to no budget to put towards maintaining their works in archival quality conditions, to artists looking to source the best possible archival materials the market has to offer. The seminar will allow participants to discuss specific examples of their work for tailored recommendations. 

This workshop is open to artists with ephemeral based practices, such as musicians and performance artists, as well as artists working in non-standard materials. The workshop will support artists in gaining tangible knowledge of archival best practices and answer the following questions:

• What is an archive? What kinds of archives are there? 
• Why should I think about archiving my work? 
• What are the best methods of storing and preserving physical and digital work? 
• What materials are worth keeping? 
• How many copies should I keep for my personal archive? (Of prints, exhibition flyers, process materials, etc)
• What kinds of archives would be interested in my work? 
• How do I approach an archive to acquire my work? And at what point in my career is this realistic?

About Maya Pasternak & ellen belshaw:

Maya Pasternak has run archives, their curation, and digitization for over a decade. With a background in interdisciplinary art and social practice and a Masters of Information in Archiving and User Experience Design, she cares passionately about the care and access of archival materials.

With a background in art history, contemporary art curation and arts administration, ellen belshaw completed their Masters of Information Studies at McGill University in 2022, focusing on archives and non-ocularcentric exhibition strategies.

Pasternak and belshaw currently work together at the Archives and Special Collections of the Jewish Public Library.

Space in the workshop is limited, reserve your spot here!