AboutThe ConditionsGlossary
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01
Acquisition Practices
02
Agreements & Contracts
03
Archival Practices
04
Audience
05
Disability & Access
06
Diversity, Equity & Cultural Guidelines
07
Documentation
08
Establishing Relationships
09
Fees, Wages & Budgets
10
Grants & Funding
11
Media & Communication
12
Security, Risk & Insurance
13
Transmission, Activation & Touring
14
Working With Performers
15
Working on Site

This Index is displayed in Alphabetic order

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Documentation

What is the purpose of documentation? Documentation can be created by many different custodians with different objectives and can take multiple forms beyond physical documents.

Overview

Those custodians (such as artists and museum professionals) contribute to the network of knowledge and information that makes up documentation. More than simply recording what happens when a choreographic work is performed, documentation enables access to, communication with, and supports understanding of a work and practice in the present and future. Documentation can provide a tangible reference material for both artist and museum in supporting the work as it evolves over time.

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The purpose of documentation for choreographic works is:

  • To ensure the longevity of a choreographic work to maintain its accessibility in the future.
  • To evidence a choreographic work’s creation, production and presentation.
  • To facilitate and identify the changes in, and constant principles of, a choreographic work over time as its needs evolve.
  • To contextualise the work within the museum as it is understood by the multiple perspectives involved.

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Documentation is one of the strategies and tools of both artists and museum conservation and archives. This section addresses documentation practices as they occur at the interface between the artist and the museum.

Things To Consider

Why?

  • How can documentation help to understand what the work is and consider its specific parameters and requirements?
  • How can the many people within the network of the choreographic work – artist, choreographer, performers, producers and museum professionals – work together to broaden the scope of who holds an understanding about the work and who will develop its documentation?
  • Does the documentation acknowledge the positionality and bias of the documenter? Eg. including first-person accounts of the process and experience.

What?

  • What purpose is the documentation being created for (commission, acquisition, display, archive etc.)?
  • What types of documentation are being created? For example, email communications, social media, and where and what ephemera will be made and saved?
  • Is there anything that cannot be documented for various reasons?
  • Has the artist indicated that they would like to limit or refuse any/all forms of documentation?
  • Do things that sit outside of the work – such as reference material, conversations, working notes - need to be documented or is this original material considered part of the work? If so, how is this determined and what is the plan for the material?

Who?

  • Who will own the copyright of documentation and what is the agreement on the use of documentation?
  • How will the museum ensure that the artist is as involved as they wish throughout the documentation of their work and consulted on any documentation that represents their work publicly?
  • Can the museum ensure adequate flexibility and understanding of everyone’s time, and can they resource the labour involved with documentation?
  • How can exchange moments, such as interviews and recordings, be transparent and upfront? What are you collectively trying to achieve?

How?

  • How can the documentation process help artists and museums come together to understand and share the underlying principles of the artwork?
  • How is a sense of shared responsibility for documentation established from the outset?
  • How can museums and artists engage in and enable moments of dialogue throughout the documentation process? Eg. feedback or reflection sessions.
  • How will both the artist and museum identify what needs to be documented?
  • How will the documentation enable the different experiences, senses, and dynamics of a choreographic work to be documented in a multi-dimensional way?
  • How is the work’s broader network identified? Is it appropriate that that network is involved in a dialogue with the museum? How can this dialogue be maintained?
  • How will different voices and authorship be represented in the documentation? Eg. using annotations to link to specific voices.
  • How will consensus on the language surrounding the work be established and its consistent application ensured?
  • Can a documentation methodology specific to the work be established?
  • How can museum professionals be open to different ways of working beyond standard documentation practice? Does the museum have the time and space to trial different approaches?

The Future?

  • Does your documentation make space for learning and reflective practice about the work undertaken?
  • Does the documentation work flexibly? Can it adapt and change as the work evolves over time in different contexts?
  • How will the museum ensure the artist’s access to any/all documentation of their work? At the agreement stage?
  • Have the storage and access arrangements for any / all documentation associated with an artist's work been discussed / agreed upon?
  • Have the reproduction rights of the documentation been discussed and agreed? For example, will the documentation be made into print, editions?

Resources

Embedded documentation

Example

A fictional example of a situation where a choreographic work has embedded documentation.

Embedded documentation

Example

A fictional example of a situation where a choreographic work has embedded documentation.

Inappropriate documentation practices

Example

A fictional example of inappropriate documentation practices.

Inappropriate documentation practices

Example

A fictional example of inappropriate documentation practices.

TATE Map of Interactions

Case Study

Developed as part of “Documentation and Conservation of Performance” (March 2016 – March 2021) at Tate. The project team developed strategies that responded to the challenges emerging from different types of performance-based artworks including the Map of Interactions, which aims to provide an understanding of the networks of performance-based artworks that exist both internally and externally to Tate.

TATE Map of Interactions

Case Study

Developed as part of “Documentation and Conservation of Performance” (March 2016 – March 2021) at Tate. The project team developed strategies that responded to the challenges emerging from different types of performance-based artworks including the Map of Interactions, which aims to provide an understanding of the networks of performance-based artworks that exist both internally and externally to Tate.

AGNSW Artist Interview Release Form

Template

A form used when an artist is interviewed and consent is needed for reproduction and archival purposes.

AGNSW Artist Interview Release Form

Template

A form used when an artist is interviewed and consent is needed for reproduction and archival purposes.

Performance Documentation Checklist

Template

A checklist to ensure all documentation (including administrative documents) are archived.

Performance Documentation Checklist

Template

A checklist to ensure all documentation (including administrative documents) are archived.

Acknowledgement of Country
This research project is grounded on the Country of the Eora, Kulin, Ngunnawal and Noongar nations. We would like to acknowledge the Ancestors and Custodians of these places who have cared for the land and engaged in cultural practice on Country since time immemorial. We recognise our privileged position as individuals living and working on stolen, unceded Indigenous land. We thank all of the First Peoples and Indigenous collaborators who have enriched our work and research by generously gifting their knowledges and practices to this project.
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