Digital meets Culture

A way to link the past with the future

Coventry University launches digital library to celebrate city’s cultural history

An online archive of photos, videos, maps and documents designed to celebrate the city’s heritage: this is the new initiative promoted by Coventry University in cooperation with Coventry City of Culture Trust, Culture Coventry and other partners.
Coventry Digital was set up to allow people with connections to Coventry to revisit and celebrate its past and update it with new assets, images and content. It also has the potential to allow augmented and virtual reality uses as its content and contributions develop.
So far, more than 12,000 items including photos, videos, maps and documents have been uploaded to the archive – featuring a wide range of Coventry’s most unique and defining features from years gone by as well as more recent times.
The online archive represents a very performed tool to document Coventry history and it is good that its launch proceded the UK City of Culture celebrations which will start in May and will run for 12 months.
Coventry Atlas, which can be accessed through Coventry Digital, has also been developed to allow users to zoom into specific locations and see their unique, individual archives. As a funding partner of the project, Coventry Atlas has facilitated the digitisation of a vast range of images, assets and resources that have been made available through Coventry Digital, including an interactive map displaying wartime bomb damage to the city.
More information on the Coventry University website

Cultural Heritage as a Source of Societal Well-being in European Regions

Final Deliberative Workshop of HERIWELL EU project

Yesterday, January 26^th, it was held the final event of a 3-days online participatory initiative promoted by the HERIWELL project. In the first part of the meeting the HERIWELL team introduced the goals of the project and a brief description of the past two workshops. The presentations that followed highlighted different aspects of the impact of cultural heritage on the well being of society. A representative of the DG Education and Culture shared with the participants the EU programmes for culture and R&I. The debate was characterized by the exchange of experiences and case studies on participation and digitization applied to cultural heritage. Among others, the example of the Archeological Museum of Naples was reported as successful experience in which the use of digital tools facilitated the access to culture, increasing societal engagement and cultural participation.
Nevertheless the importance to balance digital and sensorial /experience in art was raised by the participants as main aspect to take into account by practitioners of the cultural field.
At the end of the meeting the HERIWELL team shared with the participants the events agenda for 2021. Next meeting is planned for February and will focus on Dissemination.
The participation to such interactive and dynamic debate offered to UNCHARTED project the possibility of a productive confront on topics that are the basis of its research activity but it also had the chance to present the main goal of its investigation to the HERIWELL stakeholders and to anticipate the future results of its work.
Download the HERIWELL deliberative final workshop agenda here.
HERIWELL Website
Previous blog on HERIWELL deliberative workshop

a series of events organized by AI4LAM Teaching and Learning Working Group in the week of 29 March

“Applying and deploying AI in GLAMs” – Call for workshop proposals

The AI4LAM Teaching and Learning Working Group is organizing a series of online workshops on the week of March 29, 2021 to provide training opportunities for those interested in applying and deploying AI in Libraries, Galleries, Archives, and Museums.

We intend to bring together a diverse community of experts with subject and domain expertise, as well as technologists across GLAM institutions for a collaborative learning event. The workshops should include a critical reflection about the process of applying AI and its implications in GLAM institutions.

If you are interested in offering a workshop, please submit a brief proposal through this form: https://forms.gle/ge4AzP8a2zBts47g6.
Deadline to submit a proposal is Feb 12, 2021.

Workshops should be no longer than 2 hours if possible and be based on materials (notebooks, code repositories, pre-recorded mini-lectures, demos etc) that are made available at least 2 weeks before the event. The live Zoom session will be for interactive time and also serves to review material and field questions, or for group discussions. Additional communication will be available on AI4LAM Slack channels.

Questions can be addressed to triznam@si.edu, cengel@stanford.edu or the #teaching-and-learning-ai channel on ai4lam.slack.com

website: ai4lam.org

deadline is 31 January, the survey will serve to support a research on practices and challenges in the museum sector

Survey about stored collections of museums

The Erasmus University Rotterdam in collaboration with the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (UIC Barcelona) – as related to a PhD research – are conducting a survey on the stored collections of museums across the world.

Knowing that the larger portion of the collections is stored, this survey will gather data about:
– The type and condition of collections stored;
– The type of storage available; and
– The services provided to access stored collections.

Your participation in this survey will support understanding of the current practices and challenges faced to increase access to collections, particularly those currently in storage. Your answers will be kept anonymous and all results will be reported in aggregated form.
The deadline to send your response is 31 January 2021.

To participate in the survey in English click here: https://forms.gle/w2GquvY2bFefEyct6.
Cette enquête est également disponible en français: https://forms.gle/LGy7MmxthPWq31uJ9.
Esta encuesta está disponible en español: https://forms.gle/QeAWmxc27HQb8F5A6.

We thank you for taking part in this study.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact one of the researchers involved at navarrete@eshcc.eur.nl and laracorona@uic.es.
Image courtesy of Marco Lanza.

The Serpentine presents artistic initiatives in which thechnology meets art

‘Arts Technologies’ at Serpentine Galleries

Text by Caterina Sbrana.

“Our Galleries are temporarily closed due to current coronavirus restrictions. We look forward to welcoming you back again soon”.

This message is on the home page of the Serpentine Galleries website and it’s similar to others we read in many other museum sites, due to the health emergency. However, the art galleries have not stopped and have continued to carry on their program presenting online exhibitions.

Screenshot image of the Serpentine Galleries home page; https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/

The Serpentine Galleries’ basic idea is described in the Arts Technologies section: “The Arts Technologies programme at the Serpentine Galleries proposes critical and interdisciplinary perspectives on advanced technologies through artistic interventions. Challenging and reshaping the role that technologies can play in culture and society is part of the Serpentine’s commitment to supporting new artistic experiments at what has now become a historical intersection. The programme initiates and supports artists in developing ambitious artworks that deploy advanced technologies as a medium, tool or topic, often operating beyond gallery walls”.

The Serpentine Galleries present online, without any registration, a free programme of films, podcasts, articles, exhibitions, live events and technological innovation. Entering the What’s on section of the Serpentine we find a whole series of extraordinary artistic initiatives in which technology meets art or vice versa.

Screenshot image of What’s on section where we find exhibitions and different digital works; https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/

I would suggest you to visit the current exhibition by Jennifer Packer, titled “The Eye Is Not Satisfied With Seeing”, which will continue until March 2021 (https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/jennifer-packer/) where we can admire portraits of artists, monochromatic paintings, drawings and also the famous Say Her Name, “painted in response to the suspicious death of Sandra Bland, a Black American woman who is largely believed to have been murdered while in police custody in 2015”.

At the same time I suggest to put on the agenda a next exhibition that will be inaugurated on 30 March 2021 and will continue until 30 August 2021, by James Barnor, a British-Ghanaian photographer (https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/james-barnor/).

The Serpentine Galleries present, since the 70s, a research in art linked to the use of modern digital technologies in a dialogue between technology and art, which is very effective especially when the latter deals with universal issues such as ecology, the climate emergency or equality. In the field of digital art, the Galleries deal with understanding the effect of digital technologies on artistic field.

The site is very interactive and it is easy to find ongoing initiatives. From the home page you enter in Experience art online, from here you can choose the Art & Ideas section and then deepen a topic of interest by exploring exhibitions, listening to interviews with artists, reading focused interventions on particular topics.

In 2020, Serpentine celebrated its 50th anniversary and for this event a special page on the website was opened: 50 years of programmes, projects and events are covered. In it we read that “Global events have significantly changed our planned programme but we hope that you will join us online for regular podcasts, videos and articles exploring art, artists and the themes that drive our work”.

https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/

https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/arts-technologies/

https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/

deadline to apply to this intensive online training programme by the NETCHER project is 24th January!

Online course: 3D Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage at Risk

On February 15th-17th, 2021, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy) and the Center for Cultural Heritage Technology – Italian Institute of Technology (Italy) will organise the 3D Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage at Risk Training, in the framework of H2020 NETCHER Project.

NETCHER 3D Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage at Risk Training (NTRCHRT) is as a 3-day intensive online education programme focusing on 3D documentation and reconstruction of Cultural Heritage objects at risk to be stolen, trafficked, or damaged.

The goal of this training is to provide the basics to work with photogrammetry, 3D reconstruction and 3D modelling as a means of protecting Cultural Heritageat risk.

NTRCHRT addresses specifically Cultural Heritage professionals working in/for Museums, Archaeological Parks, Art/Archaeology local management offices/Superintendencies and Cultural Heritage national agencies. The programme offers a multidisciplinary learning experience with hands-on activities and opportunities to learn from professionals in the field. It will include pre-recorded tutorials, live lectures, and personal projects to get practice, interact with trainers, and gain familiarity with key software packages (such as ReCap PRO), photography applications to Cultural Heritage objects and metadata structuring, and LiDAR portable technology.

If you are a motivated Cultural Heritage specialist, do not miss the chance to apply to the Training Programme and directly benefit from it in your daily professional activities.

Details

Online Training Programme
15-17 February 2021
Full description and application information here
Full programme here
NTRCHRT will be open to maximum 25 participants. Please note, this course is very time-intensive and we ask a full commitment of the participants during the sessions.
Fluency in English is required.
No fees: the training costs are covered by NETCHER H2020 Project Training Fund.
Priority is given to applicants working in Museums, Institutions, Superintendences, and similar institutions dealing with artefacts documentation, or working in geographic areas severely exposed to Cultural Heritage looting and theft.

Survey deadline: 15th February 2021

EuropeanaTech calls for participation!

Google Arts and Culture (GA&C) is now a major portal through which users can experience artworks and cultural artifacts from over 2000 galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM), from over 80 countries, worldwide. While the portal attracts large audiences, there has been next-to-no published research on the GLAM sector experience of GA&C. What is attractive about the platform to institutions? What benefits does it provide to the partner organisation? What was the experience of preparing and submitting material to GA&C? What issues are there regarding labour, permissions, copyright, and sustainability? What lasting effects will it have on the sector?
EuropeanaTech, the community of experts, developers, and researchers from the R&D sector within the greater Europeana Network Association, is undertaking a study regarding the GLAM sector’s experience of GA&C, and perceptions of GA&C. At this purpose it launched a anonymous survey addressed to all those working within the GLAM sector to provide their opinion freely. The survey should take about 20 minutes.
Results will be published into an academic article, in late Spring 2021, which will be made available via open access upon publication, hopefully later in the year. The article will be a follow up to the EuropeanaTech recently published paper “Digital cultural colonialism: measuring bias in aggregated digitized content held in Google Arts and Culture”.
Link to the survey: https://edinburgh.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/google-arts-and-culture-the-glam-sector-experience-survey ( there can be some issues using Chrome, but it works in other browsers).
Link to EuropeanaTech website: https://pro.europeana.eu/page/europeanatech

Save the date: 8th February, 2021

DIGITAL PAST 2021 Conference hosts ‘Saving Collective Visual History’ workshop by Photoconsortium

Digital Past is an annual two-day conference organised by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. It showcases innovative digital technologies and techniques for data capture, interpretation and dissemination of the heritage of Wales, the UK and beyond.
This year, the conference will be run on line: one day of presented talks on Wednesday 10 February will be supplemented by workshops across the week of 8 to 12 February 2021.
The conference aims to promote learning, discussion and debate around a range of digital technologies in current use, or in development, to record and understand the historic environment.
In this context, Photoconsortium, the International Consortium for Photographic Heritage, will bring its contribute by holding a 1-hour capacity building workshop entitled “Saving Collective Visual History” to share experiences and lessons learnt for visual collections’ preservation, digitization and digital transformation.
Collections of analogue material that depict our collective visual history is deteriorating, with urgent need of saving for future generations. It is hard to save the analogue and the only way to preserve this heritage is through digitization. However, this latter is costly and time consuming and archives are forced by budget and time constraints to prioritize which objects to digitise; unfortunately this does not always correspond to the deterioration rate of the original object. The workshop will face this topic and speakers from private companies and public bodies will discuss the issues and solutions encountered by public and private photographic archives to leverage digital technologies for preservation and enhancement of heritage photographs. This discussion is aimed at institutions dedicated to cultural heritage
The workshop will be hold by Valentina Bachi (Photoconsortium), John Balean (TopFoto), Antonella Fresa (Promoter SRL) and Fred Truyen (KU Leuven).
8th February 2021 h. 14.00-15.00 UK, i.e. 15.00-16.00 CET
Registration available at https://rcahmw.gov.uk/about-us/digital-past-conference/registration-2021/
The event is free of charge.
DIGITAL PAST 2021 conference website: https://rcahmw.gov.uk/about-us/digital-past-conference/
Photoconsortium website: https://www.photoconsortium.net/
Download the workshop flyer here

online, 27 January 2021

Webinar about object and face recognition algorithms on historic photos

27th January h. 02:00 PM CET.
In the National Archives of Estonia some object and face recognition algorithms and techniques have been tested and implemented on the historic photos of the archives.The webinar describes the work done and shows the implementations in live systems.

Speakers: Mr Sven Lepa and Mr Lauri Leht from the National Archives of Estonia.

This is a webinar from the Open Preservation Foundation.
It is open to anyone interested – Registration form available here

OPF members receive priority registration and also exclusive access to the archive of webinar recordings.

The deliverable D1.6 is now available on UNCHARTED website

Work Package 1 of the UNCHARTED project complies with the expected deliverables

After the publication of the first outputs of its investigation, UNCHARTED presents the sixth and final deliverable of the Work Package 1 (WP1), leaded by the University of Barcelona and devoted to analyzing the configuration of cultural values in Europe.
Each of the deliverables produced by WP1 has analysed different aspects considered relevant for the constitution of the cultural values in Europe: gender and rising diversity (D1.1), urbanisation, spatial and social segregation (D1.2), globalisation and digitisation (D1.3), neo-liberalism (D1.4) and the European historical and political experience (D1.5).

The deliverable D1.6, titled “Synthesis of theory, literature and existent data about factors configuring the values of culture in Europe” synthesises the previous exploration of the research literature and existing data on the factors and circumstances influencing the shaping of the values of culture in Europe and it is organised taking into account the analysis carried out by the deliverables D1.1, D1.2, D.1.3, D1.4 and D1.5 . The project’s partner responsible for its delivery was the University of Barcelona.

Brief summary of the previous reports of the WP1:

D1.1 Analysis of the influence of gender and rising diversity in the configuration of the values of culture.
The partner responsible for this deliverable was the University of Barcelona.
The report has a double purpose. Firstly, it seeks to identify the factors that led the rising diversity and increasing gender equality in European societies in recent times. Secondly, it aims to analyze how these factors impact on the shaping of values of culture in three specific areas: institutionalized culture, cultural administrations and cultural policies, and citizen culture.
D1.2 Analysis of the influence of urbanisation and social and spatial segregation in cities in the configuration of the values of culture.
The partners responsible for this deliverable were the University of Porto and ELTE University Budapest.
The report takes into account the major paradigm changes in the recent urban development by focusing on the social processes of gentrification, touristification and segregation, and its consequences on urban heritage preservation.
D1.3 Analysis of the influence of globalization and digitization in the configuration of the values of culture.
The partners responsible for this deliverable were Telemark Research Institute and University Paris 8.
The report provides a review of values of culture relating to cultural administration, production and participation. The main strands of identified values are within the categories of access, engagement and identification, production/performance.
D1.4 Analysis of the influence of neo-liberalism in the configuration of the values of culture.
The partner responsible for this deliverable was Goldsmiths, University of London.
This deliverable reports about the results of the exploration, systematic review and analysis of the research literature and existing data on the influence of neo-liberalism in the configuration of the values of culture.
D1.5 Analysis of the European historical and political experience in acknowledging and promoting the values of culture.
The partners responsible for this deliverable were CNRS, CEPEL research unit at Montpellier and ELTE University Budapest.
The report questions the configurations in which European cultural policies attribute values to culture. It begins with a reflection on the meaning of value, then goes on to identify the numerous values identifiable in the history of cultural policies. It proposes a classification of the values and it describes the dynamics of emergence and transformation of the values attributed to culture in historical configurations.