Idiosyncratic Ways of Preserving Performing Arts Creation in an (Digital) Archive

Most collections conceived in artistic domains, whether in dance, music or theatre, as they are performances and involve heterogeneous sources such as text, image, audio-video recordings, music, scenarios, gesture, movement, among others, are difficult to describe or document in archival contexts (e.g., music theatre). Archiving these works challenges musicologists, as it requires an in-depth knowledge of their collaborative practices, in addition to a study considering an archaeological musicology, being necessary to gather the pieces of the puzzle, since the different elements/materials of the works are dispersed by various sources. Post-custodial forms of archive present some solutions, however it would be important to seek for a common core language and combine archival standards in order to allow the interoperability of information to understand these works from a holistic perspective. In this paper, I seek to broaden discussions about the issues around preserving creations in the field of performing arts in the (digital) archive, giving specific examples in different artistic spheres.