The Media Art Collection Research Study addresses the current state of independent media art collections in Alberta by contextualizing them within a Canadian and an international framework. Acquisition practices and policies from the archival community have been juxtaposed against those of exhibitors and distributors from within the independent media arts sector and the wider cultural community of galleries, cinémathèques and museums, in order to properly situate Alberta conventions.

The resulting recommendations have been directed at contemporary media art practitioners, those who manage media art collections, those who foster or fund the growth and development of the independent media arts community, and those who seek to provide ongoing access to the historical development and legacy of independent media art practices within Alberta. It is common knowledge that much of this work is at risk; this study finds that most collections are not properly housed in archival vaults or climactic controlled storage areas, nor are they under appropriate intellectual control such as would allow for the implementation of adequate preservation plans. Increased attention to best practice guidelines, by all parties, will help build and maintain healthier collections.

Michele L is an activist, an artist, and an academic. Her MA in Film and Media at Carleton University is inspired by many years as an activist in the non-profit sector, years spent exploring the means and ways of exhibiting media art, presentation mannerisms that have managed to both evoke and evade cultural policy. From festivals to floats, warehouses to the web, public exposure to media art has wrapped around place and wound through spaces that are curiously marked by the ephemeral performance of time based media art. Michele's work at herland: A Feminist Film and Video Festival, at the Banff Centre for the Arts, and within artist run culture across Canada and in the United Kingdom brings a rich vibrancy to her art practice and her academic analysis.