A working folder may contain unfinished captions, contact details, internal discussions and material whose use has not been agreed. A public archive needs a deliberate selection, not a direct copy of that folder. The two collections have different purposes.

Separating Working Files from Public Project Archives

Decide what a public reader needs to understand the project. Internal material should only be shared through the applicable review and permissions process, not because it happens to be stored beside approved images.

Documentation has several possible audiences. The artist may need process notes, a partner may need a practical handover, and a visitor may need a concise explanation of the work. These are not automatically the same document. Prepare an appropriate public version rather than exposing every internal comment, contact detail and unresolved discussion in the name of transparency.

Work through the essentials

1. Create a clearly marked public selection area.
2. Check each selected item for accuracy, permissions and unnecessary personal information.
3. Keep a record of the version actually released.

Use stable identifiers or clear filenames to connect related material. A photograph, recording, caption, permission record and final publication may all refer to the same contribution. The next person should not have to identify that connection from memory. Keep the structure understandable enough for a small team to maintain without turning routine documentation into a separate technical project.

A worked scenario

Suppose a team has several draft exhibition labels with informal comments from contributors. Publishing the agreed label and an appropriate process summary may explain the work without exposing every private exchange that led to it.

Agree who will look after the record after the activity ends. A collection can become difficult to use when staff leave, access accounts change or the meaning of filenames is lost. A brief handover should explain the structure, the permitted uses, the unresolved issues and the person or organisation responsible for future decisions. Check that the recipient can actually open the material.

Keep this limitation in view

Do not rely only on a filename such as approved if nobody knows who approved it or for which use. Keep the decision connected to the relevant version.

Keep the working record close to the activity it describes. A short note made after a session can preserve a change of plan, an unresolved question or a participant's suggested adjustment more accurately than a polished account written much later. Separate observation from interpretation, and mark anything that needs checking before it becomes part of the public story.

Keep the project responsibilities clear

A clear invitation explains what people are joining, what choices they have and which parts of the plan are still open. It should not promise influence over a decision that has already been made. Describe the practical boundaries before asking for contributions. People can then decide whether the available role is one they wish to take, without having to guess the organiser's expectations.

Keep the surviving record understandable beyond the original team's memory. A future reader needs the project's purpose, dates, context and relevant restrictions, as well as a selection of the material itself. Explain which parts are complete and which remain uncertain. This is especially important when a short-lived public activity is later encountered only through a website or archive.

Leave room for mixed experiences and unfinished questions. A participant might enjoy making the work while finding the display process unclear. Preserving both points gives the next project something practical to improve. Selecting only positive remarks may produce tidy publicity, but it weakens the value of evaluation as a way to understand how the activity actually worked.

The practical result

A well-prepared public archive gives readers useful context while preserving the boundaries of the working process.

Related reading

Naming Files for a Small Art Project Archive; Choosing Documentation Methods for a Community Art Project; Writing a Public Summary of a Participatory Art Process.

Background and further reference

Library of Congress: identifying, organising and preserving digital material.