Mission
To preserve, protect, and advance compelling animal-oriented digital creations.
This includes exploring connections between digital spaces and ‘the wild.’
Description
In this digital age, people around the world are creating vibrant digital projects that explore our relationships with animals and support their wellbeing—projects that inspire, educate, and contribute meaningfully to public discourse. With the disappearance of the Animal Rights History website in 2015, the importance of having an online archive to preserve animal-related digital projects became apparent.
Unlike physical objects, digital projects can disappear within a few years—sometimes permanently—yet cost far less to preserve. Independent projects—especially those without institutional backing—are particularly vulnerable. As technology evolves, or if a creator loses funding, shifts focus, or passes away, their project may be gone from public view and forgotten. Additionally, company-owned platforms that currently host digital content may lose users, or can be sold, shut down, or co-opted. In the last few years, we’ve already seen a number of nonprofits, cultural institutions, and iconic businesses go bankrupt or close, and we’ve seen digital platforms sold and politicized.
The Animals & Culture Collective™ is in its early stages, working to preserve and share vital digital projects—websites, archives, art, exhibitions, galleries, blogs, podcasts, short films, and music—by providing ongoing updates and ensuring long-term accessibility for scholars, artists, students, and the public. These multi- and transdisciplinary projects are an increasingly important part of our heritage and can remain relevant for years to come, illustrating diverse cultural perspectives and approaches, as well as the connections that bring us together. This collective is a communal response whereby we can look out for one another. Additionally, we always work in alignment with each creator’s (or their estate’s) intentions, instructions, and consent.
Your donation will support this vital work, ensuring these digital projects are preserved for future generations.
Structure
This collective is initially being organized as a nonprofit organization modeled as a co-op. Participating project creators can join as nonpaying members, while other individuals or organizations can join through board membership, volunteering, or donations.
As other nonprofits, we are organizing an advisory committee, volunteers, staff, and consultants. If you are interested in participating, please contact us.
Animals & Culture Collective™ 