Publishing a digital catalogue raisonné or digital archive can be a big undertaking. The Navigating.art team knows that good planning is essential from the start. Here are our five tips for a smooth start.
#1 Commitment
There must be a strong commitment to the project. Creating digital archives and catalogs raisonnés is a comprehensive project which may take years or even decades until completion.
#2 Assemble a strong team
You need dedicated project staff, such as a researcher familiar with the archive or artist. Depending on the size of your project, you will need to assign one to four people to it. If you have an analogue Catalogue Raisonné, it must be digitized, the data extracted, and uploaded as well.
#3 Seek external expertise
To manage your project effectively it is important to know the limits of your team’s capabilities and when to seek external support. A Navigating.art expert can help you to understand the platform and choose a workflow suitable to your needs. From data entry over archival digitization or large-scale import, our team has gained expertise in a wide variety of topics to support your project with confidence.
#4 Discover all sources
Be aware of any recent discoveries and known discrepancies within the art world. All additional information from external archives, libraries, auction houses, etc. must be compiled, reviewed, digitized, and entered on the platform. On the Navigating.art platform, all this source material can be linked to the artwork entries to document every detail and make the most of the discovered materials.
#5 Clarify the intellectual property
You must obtain the intellectual property and usage rights for publishing content.
Bonus tip: Establish an advisory board
The larger the project, the more important it is to have a reliable supervisory body. A group of trusted experts can give direction on bigger project questions. After all, there are many critical decisions to be made when assembling works for a catalogue raisonné. An advisory board or committee, as a dedicated vetting authority, can deliver reasoned decisions for any request for inclusion.
Last updated: 30 April 2024