Video Data Bank

Video Data Bank
Name	Video Data Bank
Formation	1976
Type	Nonprofit arts archive
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois
Location	School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Leader title	Executive Director
Leader name	Richard Hawkins

Video Data Bank is an artist-run nonprofit distributor and archive specializing in avant-garde, experimental, feminist, and politically engaged videotape and new media. Founded in 1976, it has become a central resource for artists, educators, curators, and institutions, connecting individual practitioners with museums, universities, festivals, and broadcasters. The organization operates at the intersection of media preservation, scholarly research, exhibition, and distribution, maintaining relationships with artists and cultural organizations across North America and internationally.

History

The organization was founded by artists and curators active in the 1970s alternative media movement, initially linked to collectives and institutions such as the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Experimental Television Center, and the Women’s Building (Los Angeles). Early networks included collaborations with New York University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, CalArts, Graduate School of Film and Television, and artist-run spaces like The Kitchen, Arts & Crafts Cooperative (New York), and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center. Over subsequent decades, the archive intersected with festivals and conferences such as Sundance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Venice Biennale, Documenta, São Paulo Art Biennial, and academic gatherings at Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Chicago. Staff and founding contributors engaged with movements and figures tied to feminist art movement, video art, and performance art, forming links with artists and organizations including Joan Jonas, Nam June Paik, Bill Viola, Martha Rosler, and Shirin Neshat.

Collection and Holdings

The collection comprises thousands of works on formats ranging from U-matic, Betacam, and VHS to digital video, DVD, and born-digital files. Holdings emphasize works by independent makers such as Lynn Hershman Leeson, Cheryl Dunye, Pipilotti Rist, Yvonne Rainer, Vito Acconci, Chris Marker, Ernie Gehr, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Su Friedrich, Barbara Hammer, and Hito Steyerl. The catalog includes performance documentation of Marina Abramović, experimental narratives by Kenneth Anger, activist videos by Emory Douglas, and community media projects connected to groups like Third World Newsreel and Paper Tiger Television. Collections also preserve video essays, documentary shorts, installations, and artist monographs tied to institutions such as Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Whitney Museum of American Art, Guggenheim Museum, and Walker Art Center.

Distribution and Access

The organization distributes works for exhibition, classroom use, and research, servicing universities, museums, galleries, and festivals including Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Smithsonian Institution, National Gallery of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and New Museum. Licensing covers public screenings, streaming for pedagogical contexts, and rights negotiation with estates and living artists, coordinating with legal entities like ASCAP, BMI, and rights holders tied to works by Terry Gilliam, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Burden, and Robert Mapplethorpe. Access policies balance artist control, copyright law such as the Copyright Act of 1976, and institutional needs, offering researchers pathways through partnerships with Getty Research Institute, Library of Congress, and university special collections.

Educational and Curatorial Programs

Educational initiatives include curated curricula, study guides, and collaborations with programs at Columbia College Chicago, DePaul University, Northwestern University, University of Illinois Chicago, and international partners such as Goldsmiths, University of London and University of Amsterdam. Curatorial projects have appeared in association with festivals and venues like Steirischer Herbst, Rotterdam International Film Festival, Viennale, Frieze, and retrospectives staged at Bauhaus-Archiv, Centre Pompidou, and Museum Ludwig. Workshops and symposia convene scholars and practitioners from Berlinale, SXSW, Ann Arbor Film Festival, and academic presses including MIT Press and Duke University Press.

Notable Artists and Works

Prominent artists represented include pioneers and contemporary practitioners such as Nam June Paik, Bill Viola, Joan Jonas, Shirin Neshat, Martha Rosler, Cheryl Dunye, Barbara Hammer, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Pipilotti Rist, Vito Acconci, Yvonne Rainer, Kenneth Anger, Chris Marker, Hito Steyerl, Ernie Gehr, Trinh T. Minh-ha, and Su Friedrich. Noteworthy works in circulation document landmark pieces, single-channel videos, and time-based installations that have been shown at institutions like MoMA PS1, Tate Modern, Whitney Biennial, Venice Biennale, and festivals including Sundance and IDFA.

Preservation and Archival Practices

Preservation programs address format migration, digital restoration, and metadata standards in alignment with bodies such as International Federation of Film Archives, Society of American Archivists, and the National Film Preservation Board. Techniques include transferring analog tapes to high-resolution digital masters, checksum validation, and implementing preservation metadata schemas consistent with PREMIS and Dublin Core. The archive collaborates with labs and repositories including AudioVisual Preservation Solutions, Harvard Film Archive, and New York Public Library to ensure long-term accessibility and to mitigate risks like format obsolescence and media deterioration.

Governance and Funding

Governance combines an artist-led curatorial ethos with institutional oversight from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a board comprising artists, scholars, and arts administrators with ties to Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Arts Council, and private philanthropies such as MacArthur Foundation and Graham Foundation. Funding streams include grants, distribution revenue, memberships, and partnerships with universities, cultural foundations, and governmental arts agencies including Canada Council for the Arts and Arts Council England.

Category:Arts organizations Category:Archives in the United States Category:Video art archives