Our In-House Archiving program provides free cataloging, preservation and selective digitization for artists and art organizations that want to make their archives accessible, but may lack the resources or expertise to do so. Archives are loaned to us while we preserve and catalog them. We do not hold a permanent collection.

Because our goal is to significantly increase public access to archival materials, after we complete processing, the selected artists or organizations either make their archives accessible through their own programs and systems, or donate the archive to a collecting institution with the resources to provide robust public access to researchers. The choice is theirs.

Potential archives are nominated by our advisors and others in the field, or self-nominated. We then begin a series of conversations with people to learn more about their collections, the challenges they face, and their aspirations for the future. If you are interested in being considered for this program, please contact us at info@hauserwirthinstitute.org

The term is used in many ways, but for the purposes of our In-House Archiving program we are referring to the papers and records that document an artist’s or art organization’s work. The Society of American Archivists definition can be helpful: Archives are the records created or received by a person, family, or organization and preserved because of their continuing value. The papers of artists and the archives of community groups, galleries and collectives tend to contain items like letters, emails, notebooks, photo documentation, meeting minutes and other primary sources, both analog and digital.

One way we like to think about what defines an archive is in terms of process. If artworks are (generally) the finished products of an artistic practice, the archives of individual artists and the records of arts organizations are the materials that document the process.

We seek to accommodate researchers requesting onsite access to the archives in our care whenever possible, contingent on the condition of materials and the stipulations of the archives’ lenders. In some cases, we may also be able to support remote reference requests. Research requests can take two weeks or longer to process. Please email info@hauserwirthinstitute.org to inquire about research.