KAPTUR: examining the importance and effective management of research data in the visual arts.

Research data is seen as a valuable resource and, with appropriate curation and management, it has much to offer learning, teaching, research, knowledge transfer and consultancy activities in the visual arts. However, very little is known about the curation and management of this data: none of the specialist arts institutions have research data management policies or infrastructure in place and anecdotal evidence suggests that practice is ad hoc, left to individual researchers and teams without support or guidance. In addition, the curation and management of such diverse and complex digital resources is, in itself, challenging.\ud \ud Led by the Visual Arts Data Service, a Research Centre of the University for the Creative Arts, in collaboration with the Glasgow School of Art; Goldsmiths College; and University of the Arts London, and supported by JISC, the KAPTUR project (2011 - 2013) seeks to address the lack of awareness and explore the potential of research data management systems in the arts, by: uncovering the nature of research data in the visual arts; investigating the current state of the management of research data; developing a model of best practice applicable to both specialist arts institutions and arts departments in multidisciplinary institutions; and to applying, testing and piloting the model with the four institutional partners.\ud \ud Utilising the findings of the KAPTUR project to date, this paper will consider the nature and importance of research data in the visual arts; explore the potential benefits its effective management may offer researchers, academic colleagues and students; and provide the audience with the opportunity to consider how developing practice in the visual arts could inform and enhance similar endeavours more widely across the humanities