The Heritage Digitised project is a series of discourses on the digitization of cultural heritage. The project, commissioned by the Goethe Insitut, involved unpacking digitisation of cultural heritage and features engaging discussions and insightful perspectives with cultural practitioners from N.W Europe. Here are the topics I focused on:
- Digital Restitution
- Representation & Diversity in Digital Collections
- Digitising collections & climate change
You can follow the conversation through live updates on this page. You can also find these on the website and Instagram channels of Goethe Instituts in London, Glasgow, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands.
October 6, 2023
Approaching Inclusivity in Museum Labels and Metadata : Conversation with Dr. Adriana Muñoz
Museums play a pivotal role in shaping our comprehension of history, in preserving and shaping memories, constructing identities and ascribing values for future generations.
However, collections that tell stories of our past are not always free from bias, and the often skewed process of determining which segments of history to highlight, whose narratives to present, and which communities to underscore, can result in deepening stereotypes and further marginalisation of some communities.
In this talk, Dr. Muñoz, Curator at the National Museum of World Cultures, Sweden spoke about a project which aimed to work with the Brazilian community to decolonize the collections. Through the use of WhatsApp, they were able to include the voice of the community, changing the original narrative which was shaped by the collector. She also emphasised the importance of creating safe spaces to enable people from different communities to participate in such projects.
If you missed the conversation or would like to revisit it, here’s a recap.
September 28, 2023
What is inclusive metadata?
Can digitisation of cultural collections help create space for new narratives? Can it contribute to a more inclusive world?
Why is inclusive metadata even important?
When representation is biased or limited, it can perpetuate stereotypes and discrimation, resulting in the implicit erasure of marginalised identities. It can promote a skewed understanding of history.
A diverse representation can promote a culture of informed, empathetic conversations that address critical social issues.
Museums, libraries and archives use standardised terminology to group and describe collections. An example of a resource of universally recognised vocabulary comes from the ‘Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)’. Often, the terminology contained within vocabularies like LCSH reflect a largely white, heterosexual, cisgender, male perspective.
Further, the terminology to describe marginalised communities, has been developed by those outside of the marginalised community, resulting in a biased description. The continued use of these outdated terminologies today continues to perpetuate bias and further ignorance.
Traditional cataloguing standards do not include metadata that describe aspects of diversity. Often, metadata includes biased language or descriptions that fail to capture the true essence or historical context of the collections. Example: use of the word ‘Native’ or ‘Oriental’ in object titles/descriptions re-affirm an imperialist narrative and stereotype.
By using inclusive metadata museums can challenge historical biases, stereotypes, and exclusions that may have been present. This includes avoiding language which harms BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour), LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities, working class people, and other marginalised groups of people.
September 23, 2023
Libraries, Museums & the Climate Crisis : a conversation with Barbara Fischer
Barbara Fischer works with the German National Library, and each Friday morning you can find her outside the German Bundestag, at a “Fridays for Future” protest. I spoke to her about museums and libraries and their role during a climate crisis.
“digital technology is a strong tool for outreach, community organizing and sharing knowledge in most feasible ways. GLAM institutions have a lot of skills and experience in these fields plus a high credibility among their audiences. To me, it is their (GLAMs) responsibility to help to create momentum for the most important message in our time : Stop whacking our planet.”
A huge shout out to the (almost) 500 of you for attending.
If you missed the conversation or want to revisit it, watch a recap here:
September 7, 2023
What does effective digital restitution look like ? – and other questions
Can you imagine, if a community could sing a song, upload it and find a related spiritual object ? Dr. Anne Luther’s team is prototyping a search tool to find objects without depending on written language. Of course, this means extensive work on meta data, connecting databases and experimental technical developments. The goal in all of this is that once objects are found, they can be restituted!
“The foundation to Digital Restitution is always that the community stakeholders make the decisions about digital assets & anything that is the product of digital assets”.
– Dr. Anne Luther
Can institutions digitize collections they were not supposed to have? Is publishing everything under “Public Domain” the answer ? We asked Dr. Anne Luther, founder of the Institute for Digital Heritage, about current practices and emerging approaches to Digital Restitution.
In case you missed our 30-minute conversation, here’s a recording that you can watch!
Here’s a short note from the conversation with Dr. Anne Luther
What role can technology play in effective digital restitution?
“There needs to be digital infrastructure that allows for the community of origin to decide who, how and in what context access is given. It is also a great opportunity for museums to consider local contexts and the data sovereignty of the knowledge they’re holding.”
– Dr. Anne Luther
For restitution, it is important that:
> institutions have a sound approach to digital collections inventories and records of provenance. This allows institutions to identify collections that were acquired as a consequence of unequal power relationships and leads to the ethical question on the right of institutions to facilitate digital access, ownership and authorship.
> institutions with access to digital infrastructure and technology, have to ask for permission to digitise and store digital assets during and after restitution processes. Not doing so re-establishes the colonial power structure by prohibiting & restricting the original community’s agency over their own cultural heritage.
