Integration of Isabel Pires (CM) in COST Actions and the OCM Platform
Isabel Pires, senior researcher at the Research Group on Contemporary Music, is now a member of COST Actions CA24125 – Cultural Heritage in Crisis: Transdisciplinary Assessment of Legal and Regulatory Frameworks (CRICULT) and CA24129 – European Media and Born-Digital Art Conservation and Knowledge Network (EMBARK).
On the one hand, CRICULT Action takes a transdisciplinary approach, bringing together researchers from the fields of law, humanities, social sciences, arts and cultural heritage, with the aim of analysing how different types of crisis (including climate change, armed conflict, forced displacement, illicit trafficking, threats to intangible heritage and phenomena of tourist pressure) affect tangible and intangible cultural assets, as well as existing models of governance and safeguarding. Isabel Pires participates in Working Groups 4 and 6:
- WG4 (The crisis of intangible heritage and its impact on tangible heritage loss) focuses on the relationships between intangible cultural heritage at risk and the loss or weakening of tangible heritage, exploring cultural, social and identity dynamics in crisis contexts.
- WG6 (Supranational and transdisciplinary heritage-in-crisis cooperation) is dedicated to supranational and transdisciplinary cooperation in scenarios of heritage at risk, promoting links between academic research, cultural institutions and international organisations.
Participation in this COST Action contributes to strengthening CESEM’s presence in European networks dedicated to cultural heritage, public policy, and interdisciplinary research on artistic practices, memory, and preservation in critical contexts.
On the other hand, the EMBARK Action responds to the challenges posed by the preservation of artistic works that incorporate digital technologies, including sound, video, software, interactive installations and networked environments. Its main objective is to structure a European knowledge network that promotes the sharing of methodologies, tools, institutional practices and conceptual frameworks for the conservation of technologically complex art forms that are particularly vulnerable to obsolescence. Isabel Pires participates in Working Groups 2 and 4:
- WG2 (Software-based Art and Ownership) addresses key issues related to the analysis, documentation and understanding of the material, technical and conceptual specificities of media art and born-digital art.
- WG4 (Shared Systems of Documentation and Knowledge Management) is dedicated to the development of sustainable strategies for the long-term preservation, access and transmission of this heritage, articulating perspectives on conservation, artistic research, archives and museology.
Participation in this COST Action reinforces CESEM’s involvement in international networks dedicated to research on contemporary artistic practices, sound and audiovisual heritage, and emerging challenges of cultural preservation in the digital context.
Finally, it is also worth highlighting Isabel Pires’ integration into the working team responsible for developing the Portuguese national node of the Our Collections Matter platform, an international initiative promoted by ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property), dedicated to the enhancement and safeguarding of heritage collections at risk.
The Our Collections Matter platform aims to support institutions, researchers and decision-makers in identifying, documenting and sustainably managing vulnerable collections, promoting good practices in preservation, risk assessment and informed decision-making. The development of the Portuguese national node seeks to adapt this international framework to the specific context of existing collections in Portugal, encouraging coordination between research, memory institutions and heritage policies.
Participation in this initiative is linked to the work carried out at CESEM in the areas of sound and musical heritage, namely in the study, documentation and preservation of analogue audio media, such as magnetic tapes, and collections of Portuguese composers, often characterised by high material fragility and risk of loss.
