From fluid art to fluid archive: A dive into an online documentation project of ephemeral heritage from the 1960s onwards

This article is concerned with the question of how to make participatory and ephemeral art projects last, without limiting or stabilising them. I argue that such art projects, like the inflatables Cushion and Dragon initiated by the Eventstructure Research Group in the 1960s, can be considered forms of fluid art, that ask for fluid practices of documenting and archiving. To this end, the notion of the ‘fluid,’ as defined by the actor-network theory-inspired scholars Annemarie Mol and Marianne De Laet, is mobilised. Moreover, I will discuss the Art Action Academia project, launched by artist, activist and archivist Tjebbe van Tijen, as an example of a fluid archive concerned with ephemeral heritage from the 1960s onwards, and will evaluate its potentials and challenges. By analysing specific practices of fluid art and archiving, which are not broadly known, and by introducing the theoretical perspective of the fluid actor, I aim to contribute to the debate on care for ephemeral forms of art and heritage.