Its purpose is to collect, archive, digitize, and publicize the work of the German artist Joseph Beuys.
The archive was opened on November 5, 1996 with two premiere exhibits.
One of these was a double projection of Coyote III, a happening that Beuys had first performed in Tokyo together with Nam June Paik.
The other was a performance by Takehisa Kosugi, who debuted a previously un-played score by John Cage.
The musical score had been a gift from Cage to Beuys on the occasion of his 60th birthday.