Artists push back after SAIC cuts Video Data Bank staff
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The School of the Art Institute in the Loop. Photo: Courtesy of SAIC
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) reduced staff at the influential Video Data Bank, raising concerns from artists about its future.
Why it matters: Video Data Bank (VDB) is considered one of the premier archives of video art. It lends its collection to museum exhibitions, film festivals and universities and art schools.
- Contents of the archive have appeared at the Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern and many other places.
Driving the news: SAIC let go of VDB director Tom Colley and two others on Nov. 12, leaving only two staffers remaining, per an email circulating on social media from Colley, former director Abina Manning and cofounder Kate Horsfield.
- Colley also wrote VDB will not be accepting new acquisitions, but a SAIC spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny that claim to Axios.
What they're saying: In a letter obtained by Axios signed by "artists, scholars, and cultural workers invested in the future of VDB," the signatories described the cuts as detrimental to sharing video art in public spaces, as well as reducing institutions' access to the content critical to teaching the art and its history.
- Colley declined to speak to Axios at this time but shared the email posted to social media.
The other side: "Like many colleges, SAIC is facing financial pressures due to changes in federal policy and their effects on enrollment. We have taken several actions to reduce spending, including the elimination of a limited number of staff roles throughout the college in order to better center the academic mission," spokesperson Bree Witt told Axios in a statement.
- "The Video Data Bank is not going away; however, in order to maintain and distribute its collection, we needed to adjust staffing levels. This was a challenging but necessary decision that allows us to protect our core teaching mission and preserve the future of the Video Data Bank."
Flashback: Horsfield and Lyn Blumenthal founded VDB in 1976 out of SAIC's video department, and it has grown to include more than 600 artists and over 6,000 titles, according to the letter.
What's next: "Artists, curators, scholars, alumni and partner organizations have begun discussions about how the core values and functions of Video Data Bank might be preserved or reconstituted — whether through new organizational structures, external partnerships, or community-driven efforts," the letter said.
- "Although the future of VDB is uncertain, the concern expressed across the arts community underscores the organization's irreplaceable role in the history, present, and future of moving-image art."