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

Abstract

This article engages with current approaches to collecting born-digital objects in museums of art and design and reflects on the analysis of two case studies concerned with the 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.

Defining Digital Design in the National Collection

“… 8. Gabi Arrigoni, Natalie Kane, Stephen McConnachie, and Joel McKim, Preserving and Sharing Born-Digital and Hybrid Objects from and across the National Collection (London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 2022), available at: https://vanda-production-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/2022/01/20/12/49/45/92b733d4-929e-429e-9fd1-82d134405465/VA-ResearchReport-Jan22.pdf. …”