Soft Network empowers contemporary artists and those working with artist estates and archives to imagine and implement new and sustainable legacy models. Our mission is to provide space for shared dialogue around this critical yet overlooked field and to redress exclusions in art history.

Our core offering is a fully-funded program of support for under-resourced artist estates and archives. Through research, archiving, public programs, digitization, exhibitions, and publications, Soft Network preserves and provides access to the work of vital yet often vulnerable artists and supports those who care for their legacies.

We envision a future where legacy planning and work is not an overwhelming burden and where all artists and their heirs have equal access to best practices and resources.

We envision an art world where the cultural preservation performed by legacy workers is visible, valued, and supported through expanded funding opportunities and collaborations with existing institutions and organizations. 

We envision a robust community of legacy workers operating in a cooperative economy to care for a wide range of art practices.

We hope to inform and shape a more expansive and pluralistic approach to art history that inspires scholars, historians, writers, curators, and artists to make innovative and meaningful connections to creative cultures and times.

Artists
We value all artists and acknowledge that many artists are independent legacy workers themselves, recovering and engaging in lost art histories and stewarding at-risk narratives. We support artists’ varied approaches to and deep interest in legacy work as a valuable alternative mode of preservation and access. 

Community and Collaboration
We believe that artists and art workers thrive in community and that legacy work is a cooperative effort requiring generosity, sensitivity and trust. We value peer to peer networks and collaboration across disciplines and generations. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
We are committed to equitable treatment and inclusion of individuals from all backgrounds, particularly those who have historically experienced discrimination based on identity or ability. We recognize the long history of exclusion and under-representation of artists and cultural workers who are disabled and/or identify as LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or female, and value the work currently being done to redress this issue. 

Knowledge and Experimentation
We believe that caring for the legacy of an experimental artist often necessitates an experimental approach. We value the deep knowledge and expertise held by legacy workers in their various roles. As a foundation for our work, we value best practices in archiving, collections management, exhibition-making, scholarship, and art law. 

Labor
We value the immense amount of work undertaken by artists and legacy workers, both physical and emotional, to ensure preservation of and access to an artist's work.  We believe this labor should be fairly compensated.