TRACKS: toolbox and guidelines for archive and collection care in the arts sector

Show me your archive and I’ll tell you who you are: archives and collections reflect the individuality and identity of the person who’s created them. They combine the unique knowledge and experiences of an artist or organisation, and form the record of their history. These collections are then in turn a source of information and inspiration for new creations, remakes or promotion.

Did you know that taking care of your archive and collection is registered as an obligation in the Arts Act? Even if you don’t receive any funding, you may well be wondering how best to preserve your creations. Where do you start? And should you keep everything?

The ‘Heritage care in the arts sector’ project was launched in 2013 to answer these questions. The aim: to stimulate care for archives within the arts sector. The project also makes the arts sector more aware of aspects such as sustainability and preservation in creation, access and presentation. It was set up together with various partners and we ran it ourselves.

The TRACKS platform is structured as a toolbox with all the necessary tools for artists and arts organisations to care for their own archive and/or collection(s). You can go there for more information about basic care for your archive, guidelines, tools, practical examples and a glossary.

>> Go to projecttracks.be

Partners

TRACKS started as an online toolbox created by meemoo (PACKED vzw at the time) in collaboration with CEMPER (then The Firmament and Resonant) with cooperation from the Department of Culture, Youth and Media, Archiefbank Vlaanderen, Flanders Arts Institute (then BAM, Flanders Music Centre and Flanders Theatre Institute), Flanders Architecture Institute (then CVAa), FARO and Forum for Amateur Arts. The cultural archives in Flanders and Brussels and contemporary arts museums also contributed to realising the toolbox.

The current projecttracks.be partners are

  • meemoo

  • Letterenhuis

  • CEMPER

  • Flanders Arts Institute

  • Flanders Architecture Institute

  • Archiefbank Vlaanderen

  • FARO

  • Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp

  • AMVB

  • The Departement of Culture, Youth & Media

Want to know more?

Visit the website.