Old files. Unfinished experiments. Abandoned ideas. How do you want your creative work to be remembered?
We’re inviting six artists and creative practitioners based in the East Midlands to join Desktop Archaeology, a free, six-week, in-person course exploring digital archiving, creative technology and the politics of preservation. Each participant will receive a £700 artist stipend to develop and present their own digital archive.
An archive is never just a collection of things. What we keep, how we describe it and how we share it all shape the histories that can be told. For artists, that includes the processes behind finished work, the experiments that went nowhere and the ideas we might return to years later.
Across six weeks, we’ll explore these questions through practical sessions, group discussions and time with the Computer Arts Archive. We’ll consider how archives are organised, whose interpretations carry authority and how artists can take an active role in shaping the record of their own practice.
You’ll build your own archive website, with ready-made templates, example projects and light coding support provided. The six websites will connect through a shared webring: a network linking the artists’ independently maintained archives. We’ll also try digital tools, including optional AI approaches, and discuss the questions they raise about ownership, interpretation and preservation.
What we’ll explore
The course moves from questioning what an archive is to creating and sharing one of your own:
Week 1: What is an archive, who shapes it and what do we choose to preserve?
Week 2: Exploring and interpreting material from the Computer Arts Archive.
Week 3: How interface design shapes our experience of an archive, and starting your website.
Week 4: Organising, describing and connecting your work through metadata.
Week 5: Situated knowledge, AI and complex systems. Using AI is optional.
Week 6: Sharing your archive, exchanging feedback and considering what comes next.
Who is it for?
We welcome artists and creative practitioners across visual art, digital art, moving image, sound, performance, creative coding and other creative fields.
You don’t need experience of coding, archiving or AI. You don’t need an existing website or a neatly organised collection either. Your starting point might be images, old files, unfinished projects, documentation or ideas you’ve never quite known what to do with.
The course combines practical support with space to question, interpret and experiment. We’re interested in what you bring to those conversations, whatever your level of technical experience.
We particularly welcome applications from artists who have faced any form of barriers to accessing technical training, equipment or professional development.
The details
Places: Six artists and creative practitioners based in the East Midlands
Location: New Media Art Club / LCB Depot, Leicester
Dates: 15 January to 19 February 2027, in person over six weeks
Cost: Free
Artist stipend: £700 per participant to support the development and presentation of a personal digital archive
Travel support: Available where needed
Application deadline: 27 November 2026
The course brings together Sean Carroll, Sean Clark and Alexa Ann Bonomo, whose practices span digital art, creative coding, curating, research and digital preservation.
How to apply
Tell us a little about your creative practice, what interests you about digital archiving and what you’d like to explore during the course.
You don’t need a developed project proposal. We’re interested in your curiosity, perspective and willingness to experiment.
If you have access requirements or would prefer to apply in a different format, please get in touch.
Organised by New Media Art Club, with research and practical exploration informed by the Computer Arts Archive.