Appendix 1
Pilot Projects
The following are beginnings of ideas for pilot projects, realisable in the short term (ie. in 2000) and with modest resources. These ideas would need to be developed in full consultation with relevant Tate departments.
- Archiving and Documentation
Archiving is an activity that is suffused with cultural values and in the meantime is becoming heavily automated with digital technologies. An investigation of how these activities are being shifted might interestingly be undertaken through artistic projects. This has begun in part with the Bankside Brower and Mark Dion's project, but these might be extended further. An artist such as Rachel Baker, who is interested in the day to day processes of work as well as the dematerialisation of art might be commissioned to be resident at the Tate for a period and to create a linked internet and gallery-based project out of her experiences. This project could operate in conjunction with the launch of "web phase II".
Simultaneously, Web phase II might draw upon the archive itself, presenting a selection of weekly highlights, possibly including the documentation held of the opening of the Millbank Tate Gallery around 100 years ago.
- Education, Participation, and new learning materials
The Linker (http://www.mongrel.org/linker) is an artist-produced piece of software that allows those with little experience of multimedia to create interactive pieces that link sound, image, text and video. Linker was exhibited recently as part of the "Imaginaria" exhibition at the ICA in which Mongrel exhibited their own content created with the software. Concurrently, the artists worked with a variety of non-artist groups to create content of their own. The software is ideal in its ability to utilise digitised images from the collection, and link it simply with archive and orginal materials. The software could enable both a participatory workshop and the making of prototype learning materials for further distribution.
A series of artist-led, participatory workshops using the software and on a number of levels: with schools and with professional art and culture researchers could realistically be undertaken. I suggest two possible themes: The history of the Tate buildings at Millbank and Liverpool, and their connection with the growth and funding of the Tate itself, to coincide with the opening and re-launches of the galleries, and / or a project to coincide with the Blake exhibition in Nov/Dec 2000.
These projects should utilise digitised work from the collection created though BAIP. As such, they could be seen as a pilot project for the exploitation of these images: further, fuller and longer-term developments could be a subject of a bid to the New Opportunities Fund / Digitise-it grants.
The Tate Modern webcasting project should be seen as integral to the development of a digital media strategy for the Tate, and a core focus of further research. The work of the unit set up should be integrated into the research and development of new ways of working for the whole of the Tate.
The project should progress with a view towards investigating media partnerships with firm plans in place and confidence from the Tate in its ability to be a content provider. Possible partnerships might include the BBC and other news providers, and .tv / The Lounge for the cultural perspective.
Artists commissions specific to the webcasting programme would enhance its experimental nature and bring new influences into the learning process. Artists commissions could concentrate on an exploration of using webcasting to build an active, participatory audience. This is an area that is missing in commercially-driven research and development and yet is fundamental to the effectiveness of the webcasting project.
Artists to involve might include:
everything productions
The x-change network/e-lab
convex tv
Rachel Baker and Heath Bunting
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