PARAGON Vision 2040
Giving art a lasting presence.
Significant works should reach more people, with their knowledge preserved across generations. PARAGON connects this cultural ambition with technological development: towards an art world in which knowledge, encounter and responsibility remain connected throughout the life of a work.
One original. An unfolding history.
A work of art accompanies people across decades and centuries. It is researched, exhibited, conserved and transferred. Each stage brings new understanding and new responsibilities. Studio photographs, publications, condition reports and agreements together tell its continuing story.
We want to preserve these connections as locations, owners and institutions change. What has been documented and agreed about a work should remain with it. New research can build on earlier findings, and the next generation can draw on the knowledge already established.
Traceable knowledge creates room to act.
Trust begins with clear foundations. People should be able to understand which information is established, what supports an assessment and which questions remain open. Sources, review status and professional responsibility are therefore integral to knowledge about a work.
Artists can keep authorised information and conditions of use together. Collectors gain a stronger basis for decisions and an orderly transfer of responsibility. Institutions can connect research, interpretation and rights coordination to the same work identity. Confidential information becomes accessible according to its purpose, while each participant retains their independence.
Security grows from the combination of supported provenance, verifiable connections to the work and clear authority. Changes should remain traceable, and protected information receives appropriate access controls. Rights holders can therefore oversee knowledge, ownership and uses with greater clarity.
More opportunities to encounter art.
Professionally curated digital and spatial presentations can bring significant works into additional cultural settings. They open routes to people who have had little opportunity to encounter the original. Alongside a physical exhibition, accessible knowledge deepens the experience and enables further questions.
Where a digital presentation replaces a specific transport, it can also help protect the original and conserve resources. Its impact is assessed in the context of the particular project. Artistic integrity, curatorial quality and responsible care for the work provide a shared measure of success.
Think long term. Develop together.
The non-profit PARAGON Foundation places its technological expertise at the service of this future. Together with SQARES and suitable art institutions, we are developing a foundation connecting work data, AI, spatial presentation and authorised processes. Artwork Spirit gives this relationship an individual form for each work.
The 2040 horizon allows time for research, testing and institutional learning. Development moves from clearly defined applications through joint reference projects towards capabilities with sustained operational support. Their impact matters: preserved knowledge, meaningful encounters and more reliable collaboration. Technologies may change; the connections surrounding a work should endure.