Are you an artist, museum conservator, or collector looking to restore or archive a work of software- or network-dependent art? Is your community organization trying to recover access to a meaningful online resource? Is your creative agency paying high server costs for outdated web projects that you can’t bear to let go of?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, Rhizome’s preservation services program may be for you.
Initiated to support ongoing access to the Rhizome ArtBase, an archive of more than 2000 artworks, our digital preservation program has spent 15 years developing archival strategies, tools, and systems that are cost-effective and scalable, supporting a decentralized ecosystem of digital archives.
Building on this work, we now provide services to a wide range of individuals and institutions, including notable recent collaborations with Walker Art Center and the Majerus Estate. We specialize in software-based artwork, particularly legacy artists’ software and CD-ROM art, as well as web-based projects.
Many of our services are available on a paid basis, though we strive to keep costs low for this mission-aligned service. We make further discounts and subsidies available where possible to deserving projects, and we also sometimes collaborate with partners to secure outside funding. Beyond our direct support, we also offer the web archiving platform Conifer, which is a robust and accessible hosted tool for making interactive, archival copies of human-scale websites.
Born-digital art is frequently obsoleted by a tech industry that consistently undervalues digital culture and its history. Through this initiative, we hope contribute to a richer and more inclusive digital social memory for all.
We look forward to hearing from you!