Establishing Tate's Conservation and Heritage Science Archive

This proposal is to scope and establish Tate's physical and digital heritage science data as one accessible archive - known as the Tate Conservation and Heritage Science Archive (CHSA). It will become available for Tate and the wider heritage and global communities to access for research, research development and to support conservation practice, rendering this rich resource organised and accessible for the first time.

The rich collections forming the CHSA will include: physical samples consisting of cross-sections and single layer samples taken from works in Tate's collection and related artworks in partner institutions; a collection of synthetic organic pigments and media; several types and brands of modern paint and paint outs; a series of unique Winsor and Newton paint swatches (1945-2003); and a range of mock-up sample outputs from ongoing research projects. The born-digital collection encompasses analytical and imaging data spanning several decades, department members and analytical campaigns, all of which require much higher levels of organisation to make them effectively discoverable and searchable.

The Archive will be achieved through deployment and customisation of a new heritage science data platform Arches for Science (AfS). AfS is an open-source tool aimed at heritage scientists, other heritage professionals and organisations to enable the secure, retrieval, visualisation, comparison and sharing of heritage science and research project data.

AfS will be integrated with Tate's existing Collection Management Database System - The Museum System (TMS), through the work of our Technology team to explore and evaluate options for interoperability across the two databases. This will mean the data contained in each can be viewed and searched as one system. A CHSA project team, to include: members of Tate's Technology team; conservation science and conservation management team; as well as specialists, will shape and govern the archive and connect data across multiple databases.

Supported through the RICHeS programme's additional staffing component, a 1.0 FTE Access Conservation Scientist will: support the cataloguing and archiving of Tate's physical collection; work with the Technology and Digital teams to design and support the webpage for access requests; and be critical to the establishment of the born-digital collection through AfS. This scientist will support all internal and external access requests and carry out scientific analysis of Archive collections for users where the information is not yet available in the Archive or is incomplete.

The Access Conservation Scientist role will continue to be pivotal post-award, for ongoing data entry into the CHSA as a holistic collection and a national research resource.

Establishing this Archive will facilitate deeper looking into the body of existing heritage science and technical information held by Tate on the UK's collection of British and modern and contemporary art. It will allow us to ask better research questions and to develop more relevant and far-reaching research going forward. Extending this opportunity for the first time to colleagues, supporters and access users at the end of the award period will result in new queries, new research ideas and new collaborations with others exploring similar artists, materials and collections.

It will facilitate and exemplify a new approach to heritage science research that will contribute to the RICHeS digital data service and the advancement of heritage science within the UK.