Low-resource / no-resource: lowering the barriers to sustainable digital preservation in the contemporary art professions
Laura Molloy
Digital preservation knowledge and practice is necessary in all domains and professions but is often presumed to take place only within the context of the memory or research institution.  If we are to improve digital preservation practice, knowledge, funding and awareness, we must broaden our understanding of the current state of digital preservation in self-funded and other low-resource contexts. 
This paper presents a detailed case study of one such context, the state of digital preservation knowledge and practice within the UK professional artist population. Contrary to public belief, artists constitute a highly educated but severely underfunded profession. At the same time, artists in contemporary practice are largely dependent for their professional survival upon the competent and sustainable preservation and use of fragile and valuable digital objects. However, training and sociotechnical support infrastructure for this professional domain is conspicuous by its absence. 
These tensions make contemporary professional art practice an ideal site for investigation of the barriers to - and benefits of - improved digital preservation practice.  
This paper provides an overview of current digital preservation practice in this complex professional landscape; delivers practical recommendations for consideration by the digital preservation community; and demonstrates the value of interdisciplinary research in understanding the real barriers to digital preservation – and how we may lower them - in a fascinating and often misunderstood profession.

Keywords – Digital Preservation, Visual Art, Qualitative Research, Social Science, Advocacy.
communications and advocacy for dp start 2 preserve