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    Experimentation and collecting practice: balancing flexible policies and accountability in developing born-digital museum collections

    McKim, Joel and Arrigoni, G. (2022) Experimentation and collecting practice: balancing flexible policies and accountability in developing born-digital museum collections. Museum Management and Curatorship , ISSN 0964-7775.

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    Abstract

    This article engages with current approaches to collecting borndigital objects in museums of art and design and reflects on the analysis of two case studies concerned with the respective acquisitions of a virtual reality artwork and a mobile app. The authors point to their non-standard preservation requirements and their unconventional objecthood to advocate for the value of adopting an experimental attitude to collecting. The case studies invite us to reconsider experimentation within the context of sensitive dialogic processes with creators and users who are unfamiliar with the conventions of museum collecting. Hence, the boundaries of experimentations are developed in relation to existing policies, organisational structures and practices, and defined by the stakes of multiple actors. To conclude, the authors argue that collecting institutions should prioritise building capacity and understanding needs and requirements for this emergent type of object, and embrace uncertainty over the imperative of long-term preservation in its fullest sense.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Born-digital, museum collections, collection management, preservation, virtual reality, mobile apps
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication
    Research Centres and Institutes: Vasari Research Centre for Art and Technology
    Depositing User: Joel McKim
    Date Deposited: 10 Jan 2023 06:17
    Last Modified: 09 Aug 2023 12:54
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/50232

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