The Hallwalls Archive, which includes our preserved video collection, Hallwalls publications, papers, and ephemera, is housed at the University at Buffalo's Poetry Collection. Thanks to a dedicated effort by archivists at Poetry Collection, the archives will be accessible via UB’s libraries in 2006 to coincide with Hallwalls 30th Anniversary celebration and the opening of our new facility in downtown Buffalo.

Hallwalls has provided opportunities for audiences to experience cutting-edge media since 1975 in the form of performances, in-person presentations, and screenings of original media art work.

Many dozens of national and international artists have participated in residencies and visited for performances, screenings, readings, panel discussions, and other events since our founding. Thanks to the documentation of these events, Hallwalls has an extensive recorded history of contemporary art practice from the past 30 years. Hallwalls began to catalogue and assess this rich video library collection in 2003 and is now making it accessible to researchers and scholars.

Artists whose work has been documented at Hallwalls over the years include Laurie Anderson, Tony Conrad, Ethyl Eichelberger, Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Karen Finley, Homer Jackson, Mike Kelley, Ann Magnuson, Cookie Mueller, Pat Oleszko, Michael Smith, Tony Conrad, Joe Gibbons, David Wojnarowicz and Nick Zedd among hundreds of others.

The Hallwalls Video Collection Preservation Project has been generously funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts Heritage and Preservation Program, the National Television and Video Preservation Foundation, and by The Experimental Television Center.

With special thanks to Curator Michael Basinski and Curator Emeritus Robert Bertholf at the University at Buffalo’s Poetry Collection for collaborating with Hallwalls on this archival project; Sherry Miller Hocking of the Experimental Television Center for her continued support; video library collection interns Carolyn Tennant and Karen Yacobucci; and The Standby Program/ Mercer Media.

Recent screenings from our Video Library Collection:

ZEITGEIST MULTI-DISCIPLINARY ARTS CENTER, New Orleans, LA.
WHITE FLUFFY DUCKIES, July 19 through 31, 2005
A tribute to many of the major gay artists who have died over the 18 years since Zeitgeist was founded, including recordings of Ethyl Eichelberger and David Wojnarowicz performing at Hallwalls in the 1980s.

THE CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, WARSAW, POLAND
HALLWALLS program at CCA, June 1, 2005
Hallwalls Media Arts Director Joanna Raczynska screened selections from recently restored videos.