Since its creation in 1947, the Festival d'Avignon has generated an exceptional collection of archival material documenting the evolution of one of Europe's most influential performing arts festivals. Over the past three decades, an increasing proportion of these archives has been created in digital form, including emails, websites, social media content, video recordings, photographs and databases. These digital traces are not only transforming archival practices—they are also reshaping how researchers document, interpret and write the history of contemporary performance.
This conference will bring together researchers, archivists, artists, museum and cultural heritage professionals, and representatives of cultural institutions to explore the opportunities and challenges presented by digital archives.
The two-day programme will feature keynote lectures, round-table discussions, artist interviews and presentations of ongoing research projects. Together, participants will reflect on new approaches to collecting, preserving and analysing digital cultural heritage while examining the methodological challenges posed by these rapidly expanding archives.
The conference is open to everyone and will be conducted primarily, though not exclusively, in French.
Practical information
- Dates: 11–12 July 2026, 9:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
- Venue: Cloître Saint-Louis, Avignon
Admission: Free of charge (registration required)
More information:
Partners
Université Rennes 2, ERC From Stage to Data, Festival d'Avignon, HERMES (France 2030), Bibliothèque nationale de France, Association Maison Jean Vilar, Villa Créative, Centre national de la danse (CND), Avignon Université.
Organising Committee
Clarisse Bardiot, Alexandra Beraldin, Jeanne Fras, Marlène Meslay and Fateme Ramezani (Université Rennes 2, ERC From Stage to Data project).
Funding
Funded by the European Union through the European Research Council (ERC STAGE, Grant Agreement No. 101097091).
