On-Site/Off-Site is a research project focused on how digital technologies might impact contemporary art commissioning in the heritage sector.

Project Background

On-Site/Off-Site is a follow-on project from the 2017-20 AHRC-funded 'Mapping Contemporary Art in the Heritage Experience' (MCAHE) project. Despite a significant rise in contemporary art commissioning for heritage sites from the 1990s, very little research had been undertaken on the reasons for this, its processes or impacts. MCAHE sought to investigate the experience of commissioning contemporary art for heritage sites from the perspectives of the host site, the artist, and for audiences. 

Two projects have arisen from MCAHE. The first, 'Volunteer Voices', responded to the finding that volunteers were key to a heritage site's engagement with audiences but generally not involved when it came to contemporary art commissioning. The project co-created and piloted a training programme in contemporary art commissioning for volunteers. A report on this project can be found below. On-Site/Off-Site is the second follow-on project.

You can download our project reports from MCAHE and its first follow-on, 'Volunteer Voices', below.

'Mapping Contemporary Art in the Heritage Experience' Stakeholders Report

'Volunteer Voices' Stakeholders Report

On-Site/Off-Site: Aims and Objectives

The aim of the On-Site/Off-Site project is to look at the potential of the digital space as a venue for the presentation, and re-presentation, of temporary commissioned artworks created specifically in response to the contemporary legacy of Thomas Bewick.

The main objectives are to:

1. Demonstrate the potential of digital space as a platform for generating new audiences for heritage by creating a born-digital artwork commissioned in partnership with The Bewick Society.

2. Demonstrate the potential of digital space as an alternative platform for dissemination by working with MCAHE artists Mark Fairnington and Marcus Coates and in consultation with National Trust staff and volunteers at Cherryburn, to deliver new digitally accessible versions of the two temporary art installations originally created for Cherryburn as part of the MCAHE research: 'Walking, Looking and Telling Tales' (2018) and 'Conference for the Birds' (2019).

3. Deliver, in collaboration with Arts&Heritage, an online symposium designed to stimulate discussion and debate within the wider contemporary art, heritage and museum communities around the value and future development of digital platforms for the preservation and public re-presentation of temporary site-specific art practice.

What will the main outputs be?

As part of the project, we will produce:

-          Re-presentations of artworks by Marcus Coates and Mark Fairnington

-          Two new digital art commissions

-          A symposium

-          An academic article and conference paper