Jointly funded by A Foundation and The Arts Council, A Database was created in 2006 to investigate new methods of digitising and archiving contemporary art and visual culture for an online environment.

A Database is dedicated to providing an industry-leading service, using a range of expert knowledge that is unique in the marketplace, with the security and authority of being part of a respected arts charity.

A Database – Our Vision
A Database aims to be a standard preservation repository for information about works of art and artists, underpinned by a wider desire to represent contemporary art within its true cultural context, all the while maintaining museum quality cataloguing standards.

We believe that by illustrating the roles of the people, exhibitions and events that surround and support artists and their work, a fuller understanding of the cultural landscape in which the works exist can be achieved.

In this way we hope to save contemporary art and culture, now and before it is lost, for the enjoyment and inspiration of the artists and art lovers of tomorrow.

Our Unique Proposition
The ability to dynamically create and control these paths and links between works, people, exhibitions, locations and events is a powerful tool and the unique proposition that A Database brings to the art world – we simply don’t know of another archiving system on the market able to do what we do…

The use of robust data protocols, specifically designed for contemporary visual material, means we can handle data from the latest technology and the newest forms of creativity.

Being stored on the internet - everywhere and nowhere - data is held safe and secure, but not held hostage. The information is stored in standard formats and accessed through open-source software that functions across all platforms, thus helping democratise access to art.

Where We Started
To test and embed our programming, the pilot project set about archiving the New Contemporaries exhibitions, an annual selection of the best work from recently graduated arts students, all the way back to 1989.
See http://newcontemporaries.adatabase.org

Next we set about meeting the challenges of cataloguing photography, with the Bruce Bernard Collection of One Hundred Photographs, and the John Deakin archive. Stand by for the online launch of these fascinating images and historical records.

In July 2007, A Database successfully launched the FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) archive of the six seminal Video Positive events 1989 – 2000. This involved the introduction of whole new areas of functionality - adding video streaming for video works, installations and interviews; and a user registration system that aims to draw in the public and stimulate debate, by enabling users to leave comments and save favourites in their own virtual galleries.
See the results at http://archive.fact.co.uk/.

A Database would like to announce the completion of Phase 1
Having successfully built an online archiving system to record and present contemporary art and culture data to museum standards, the project can safely be said to have reached the end of phase one.

From December 2008, A Database will be slimming down to core activity in readiness for phase two. Project originator Geoff Laycock will be continuing as chairman of the co-ordinating team, but otherwise handing over day to day running to project manager and photographer Anna Arca.

In the two years since its launch A Database has made freely available through the internet archives of the New Contemporaries from 1989 to date, FACT - Video Positives Events 1989 - 1999, The John Deakin Archive and The Bruce Bernard Collection of 100 Photographs. Additionally the system handled significant private collections and A Foundation events at Greenland Street in Liverpool including Sleep of Ulro - seminal work by Turner Prize nominated artist Goshka Macuga.

As the project expanded we took on the diverse and challenging archive of the Liverpool Biennial, with records of the MADE UP 2008 event being made available as part of this years European City of Culture.

Moving forward through December, we will continue to work with the Design Museum in London, sorting, photographing and digitising their extensive archive of physical objects ranging from chairs to electrical appliances, with the aim of making records available through A Database in 2009.

The complete and searchable archive of the underground newspaper the International Times (IT) will also be made available through A Database during December.

Finally, we are also pleased to announce a new archiving project with the respected Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol, and we look forwards to working with them to bring online their rich back catalogue of artists and events going all the way back to 1961. This new commission reflects our continued commitment to the work of A Database. Look out for launch details in the first half of 2009.

As we prepare to work on the upgrades and improvements to both the structure and the look and feel of our system, we are confident that A Database is the benchmark for online arts archiving and in future should be the cornerstone of any ongoing work in Britain to capture and present online digital records of contemporary art and culture.

Need Help?
A Database recognizes that the whole process of archiving is fraught with challenges: although digitising images to the highest quality before cataloguing them is commonly accepted practice, the additional workload and lack of specific skills in this area may put many off starting.

Part of our role in furthering the aims of the A Foundation, A Database is committed to offering key services to clients who need additional support in meeting the challenges of archiving and digitisation.

Industry-leading expertise means that A Database can take you or your organisation smoothly through the process of digitisation, using experience built up through a thorough knowledge of the processes, and working with clients such as The Tate, The British Library, The Courtauld Institute of Art and The House of Commons Library and Parliamentary Archives, as well as individual artists and commercial galleries.

We can help with

• all aspects of the digital process, including systems architecture, data standards and formats, backup and long-term storage
• guidance on the handling of all types of cultural materials and their digital conservation
• all aspects of digital photography, archiving, retouching, cataloguing, and analogue and file conversion are our speciality
• on-location and studio-based photography, using the latest technology and equipment, all guaranteed to meet the highest standards of colour accuracy and high quality print reproduction
• high resolution format printing for exhibitions, limited edition reproductions, through to managing small to large scale print-runs.

A Database is dedicated to providing an industry-leading service, using a range of expert knowledge that is unique in the marketplace, with the security and authority of being part of a respected arts charity.

See this link for more information.