Good research is a key way to develop and strengthen your project, the argument behind showing the work and the likelihood of its realisation. To further develop your project it is important to conduct some preliminary research to see how feasible it is and what form it may take. The information you gather during this stage can be used throughout the project, from making initial proposals to tracking down work, writing accompanying copy and eventually discussing the work with the audience members.

Key Areas to Research

Before you embark on your project gather information on the following key areas:

• Artists' work and the area of practice you are interested in
  Gather information on the artist, their work, exhibitions, and the context within which they were working. This can include biographies, list of their works and showings, articles and essays that mention their practice, catalogues, flyers, etc.
• Previous exhibitions of the artist's work you are interested in showing
  A good way to locate an artist’s work is through previous exhibitions. Explore how work was shown before and how it was contextualised.
• Historical precedents for the project
  Have there been other showings or exhibition exploring a similar area of work before? How does your project add or develop what was explored in previous projects?
• Cultural precedents for the project
  How does the project relate to other cultural / social events – what is the relevance of this event at the time you plan to hold it?

Exploring the precedents for your project will help you to define your approach and also test the validity of your project. Precedents are not just previous exhibitions of someone’s work but can often also be the lack of adequate exhibition for work. Precedents can be projects that excluded or ignored a specific area or facet of a particular work, period, artist, group, etc. The context for work shifts so when looking at previous exhibitions think about how the work would make sense now and in your intended context. How would people relate to the work? How does the work relate to contemporary art practice? How does it relate to contemporary culture and society?

Other precedents for projects would be an exhibition outside of your locality, in another city or country. The motivation for a show and an example of its relevance and feasibility are often exhibitions which show that there is interest in the work and that it is possible to show the work. But think carefully about the context and how the work would make sense when in a different context.

Research Centers

There are various centres in the UK with extensive information on a range of artists, work and exhibitions which are ideal places to research and gather material for your projects. Here are the key centres:

• British Film Institute National Library
  www.bfi.org.uk/filmtvinfo/library/
  This major national research collection includes documentation and information on international film and television, with the most comprehensive coverage of British film and television.
• British Artists Film and Video Study Collection
  www.studycollection.org.uk
  The British Artists' Film and Video Study Collection is a unique resource consisting of an extensive range of reference material from video copies of artists' work, to still images, publicity material and a wealth of documentation on artists and exhibitions.
• Tate Research Services
  www.tate.org.uk/research/
  The Tate provides a wide range of resources open to researchers. The Library includes over 40,000 books and more than 140,000 exhibition catalogues covering British art since 1500 and international art from 1900. The recently renovated Hyman Kreitman Research Centre provides access to the collections although registration is required.

Online Resources

There are a range of directories of artists' film and video that list different work and exhibition projects online. The following online directories and databases are valuable guides to work and past exhibitions and also provide a wealth of practical and contextual information that will help you with your project.

• British Artists' Moving Image Database
  www.studycollection.co.uk/bamid/
  The British Artists Film and Video Study Collection developed this dedicated resource to aid the research into British artists' film and video. The website provides comprehensive filmographies of British artists listing single screen and installation work as well as sources for the works.
• Cinovid Internet Database for Experimental Film and Video Art
  www.cinovid.org
  Cinovid is a large database of international experimental film and video works drawn from festivals and international distributors, which includes genre/subject classifications and synopsis of works.
• Early Video Project, USA
  http://davidsonsfiles.org
  Resources and tape lists for late 1960s and early 1970s US video art.
• Film and Video Art Information, Western Connecticut State University, USA
  http://people.wcsu.edu/mccarneyh/fva/navigate/FVAFrames.html
  Information on international film and video artists, filmographies and bibliographies mostly written by university students.
• Iota Center, Los Angeles, USA
  www.iotacenter.org
  The Iota Center is an organisation which preserves and promotes the art of abstract animation. They hold a large collection of materials at their centre and are currently developing an online database of abstract animators and their work.
• Ljubljana Digital Media Lab, Slovenia
  www.ljudmila.org
  Excellent portal for information on digital arts in Slovenia and Eastern Europe.
• Media Art Net
  www.mediaartnet.org
  Useful online resource designed to present the development of art and media technology during the twentieth century, promoting historic and contemporary perspectives on artistic work in and with the media.
• New Media Encyclopedia
  www.newmedia-arts.org
  Useful catalogue of works and events based on the collections of the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Museum Ludwig and the Centre pour l'image contemporaine.
• Video History Project, Experimental TV Center, USA
  http://experimentaltvcenter.org/history
  Research resources concerning the history of video art and community television in the USA.