Curating the future through the CYENS Art:Tech archive approach. *-disciplinary creators as archivists

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Myrto Aristidou
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Myrto Aristidou
Cyprus University of Technology / CYENS Centre of Excellence, Cyprus
Prof. Theopisti Stylianou-Lambert
Cyprus University of Technology / CYENS Centre of Excellence, Cyprus
Dr. Kleanthis Neokleous
CYENS Centre of Excellence, CYPRUS

This paper considers the roles of artists, scientists and technologists in contributing to the institutional archiving of New Media Art (NMA) and Art, Science and Technology (AST) projects, exploring their impact on the contextualization, preservation, and dissemination of the genre. Given the conceptual, technical, and disciplinary layers of such projects, we explore whether all production contributors should be actively involved in developing a relevant archival resource. Literature from the art and technology fields, including international NMA/AST-focused initiatives, is reviewed, while we also inquire whether an archive’s structure, content, and indexing can serve and incentivize multiple disciplines and purposes.


The paper introduces the developing Art:Tech Archive, which will host NMA/AST projects developed and/or presented at CYENS CoE, highlighting the intention to include artists and contributors in the archive’s formulation and use. A participatory action research approach design is presented as ideal for investigating creative, technical, and archival processes; contributor’s needs and potential roles; and how the value of an archive aspiring to support both creative and scientific networks is perceived by contributors. Lessons from various contexts inform this developing archival resource, which aims towards reflexivity, longevity, and dynamic knowledge dissemination while emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary contributions in the archival praxis.

Keywords
art and archive, new media art, art-science-technology, digital archiving, artist-centred digital archiving

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How to Cite
Aristidou, Myrto et al. “Curating the future through the CYENS Art:Tech archive approach. *-disciplinary creators as archivists”. Artnodes, 2025, no. 36, pp. 1-12, doi:10.7238/artnodes.v0i36.431845.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

(c) Myrto Aristidou, Theopisti Stylianou-Lambert, Kleanthis Neokleous, 2025


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Author Biographies

Myrto Aristidou, Cyprus University of Technology / CYENS Centre of Excellence, Cyprus

She holds a bachelor degree in Fine Arts from the Athens School of Fine Arts (2009) and a master degree in Heritage and Interpretation, Department of Museum Studies of the University of Leicester, UK (2013). She is currently a PhD student in the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus, and a Research Fellow at the CYENS Centre of Excellence, Nicosia, Cyprus. Her PhD research focuses on digital archival practises, art & technology synergies and media art.

Prof. Theopisti Stylianou-Lambert, Cyprus University of Technology / CYENS Centre of Excellence, Cyprus

She is a Professor at the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) and the leader of the Museum Lab group at CYENS Centre of Excellence. Her research and artistic interests encompass museum studies, photography, visual sociology and the application of new technologies in museums. She received her PhD in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester (UK) and is the recipient of several scholarships and awards, including a Smithsonian Fellowship in Museum Practice (USA), a Fulbright Fellowship (USA) and an Arts and Humanities Research Council Award (UK). Theopisti has published widely on museums and photography and has exhibited her artwork in Cyprus and abroad.

Dr. Kleanthis Neokleous, CYENS Centre of Excellence, CYPRUS

He graduated from the University of Cyprus in June 2011 with a doctorate in Computer Science and has a multidisciplinary academic background in various fields, including virtual reality and 3D graphics, electronic health (eHealth), cognitive psychology, computational neuroscience, machine learning and space science and technology. He was involved in the conception, design, preparation, writing, and coordination of numerous national and EU research projects. During and after his PhD, Dr. Neokleous co-founded two innovative startup companies in parallel, focusing on Virtual Reality technologies and eHealth applications, in line with his academic and research interests. Since June 2019, he is the team leader of the Immersive Technologies for Intelligent and Creative Applications (ITICA) Multidisciplinary Research Group (MRG) at the first Research Centre in Cyprus focusing on Interactive media, Smart systems and Emerging technologies (CYENS).

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