Dear colleagues,

Here you will find a selection of the contributions to our conference 2024.

Session I: Sustainability, climate change and protection, equality and inclusion: in the digital museum world?

Realising the potential of emergent technology for connecting heritage with sustainable development in remote areas

Dr Alan Henry David Miller, University of St Andrews, UK

Abstract

Often digital exhibits are special, often commissioned from specialist organisations for a premium price and only available to prestigious national and international organisations that have the budget to match. Yet development in underlying technologies, mean commodity computers, mobiles and networks are increasingly capable. Consequently, the possibility of immersive and mobile technologies being practical alternatives for community museums is becoming practical. At the same time we are seeing increasing threats to heritage including climate, disasters and conflicts, and the need for sustainable development that is relevant to communities. This paper explores the ways emergent immersive technologies have been used by community museums, to address different aspects of sustainable development and how two Horizon Europe projects CULTURALITY and HERITALISE will help develop tools and platforms that enable community museums to work with virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence to address the preservation and promotion of heritage and in so doing address climate action and wider sustainable development goals.

1. Introduction

This paper focusses on how emergent digital technologies can help to meet these threats and to realise emerging opportunities. Our heritage is an integral part of society, it contributes to our wellbeing, offering a sense of place, it contributes to social cohesion and social cohesion whilst in turn contributing to the economy, particularly in remote areas. There are many threats to our heritage and their are challenges if met that would enable heritage to expand the positive role that it currently plays.

Augmented and Virtual Reality offer new ways of engaging with heritage. As well as digitisation enabling preservation and promotion, they allow objects to be placed in their original contexts through placement in digital reconstructions. Through game technology, digital modelling and virtual reality, visitors are able to experience the past, present and future [KFM∗13], in ways which deepen understanding of the past and enable imagination of alternative futures. Connecting heritage with sustainable developments, speaks both of the relevance of heritage and the potential of creating a better tomorrow. In doing so we will look at the following topics:

1. Opportunities and Challenges: how the changing landscape of technology capability, accessibility and digital literacies is creating opportunities for addressing challenges for promoting and preserving heritage.

2. Sustainability and Heritage: how community engagement with heritage can help address sustainable development goals such as quality education and sustainable communities.

3. Emergent Technologies: offer the opportunity of extending experiential learning and improving engagement with heritage

4. Virtual Museums and their Infrastructure: make it easy to access heritage content and to deploy it across different context – in the museum, landscape and home, and across different platforms, PC, VR, Web mobile

5. Use cases and Projects: examples of community museums in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, engaging heritage.

6. Results and impact, discussion of the results of and impacts of using emergent technologies in community museums.

2. Threats, Opportunities and Challenges

There have been numerous and escalating threats to heritage. These include the experience of the COVID 19 Pandemic, threats related to disasters and conflict as well as threats caused or exasperated by Climate Change.
The COVID pandemic, both threatened public engagement with heritage, by preventing visits to heritage sites and organisations. At the same time it prompted a blossoming of digital engagement with heritage. Many museums took up virtual tours, social media engagement and live online events to continue to engage with audiences. In the process digital capabilities of both audiences and heritage practitioners were better understood, and digital moved permanently into the mainstream of heritage communications.

The climate crises is increasingly being recognised as an existential threat to heritage. Concretely the effects of climate change threaten heritage sites and underpinning communities. Rising sea levels will cause displacement of communities, whilst extreme weather, storms and flooding threaten the integrity of archaeological sites. Desertification and melting sea ice both threaten biodiversity and the cultural landscapes that support tangible and intangible, natural and cultural heritage.

Against this background heritage organisations are increasingly engaging with climate change and promoting, adaptations to climate change, mitigation against climate change and communicates the impact of climate change with the goal of supporting behavioural change such as societal backing of clean energy, to arrest and reverse climate change.

Museums and gallery based organisations play an important role in providing informal life long learning opportunities. In doing so they help shape the collective understanding of the past, our present and potential futures. In the last 20 years we have seen a transformation in the capabilities, accessibility and digital literacies of computers, which offer opportunities to heritage practitioners and organisations.

Moore’s Law states that the number of transistors on microchips doubles every two years. This translates into an exponential increase in the capabilities of computers, mobile devices and networks.

Whilst the accuracy of the law is open to question it is the case that the capability of digital devices have been expanding since the early 70’s. We have seen the extension of the types of applications that are widely available. Message boards, email an messaging move from, textual applications, in the 70s and 80’s were joined by graphical interfaces, windows and graphical web browsers in the early to mid nineties. The 200’s saw widespread streaming and sharing of compressed audio and the rise of MP3s, followed by the domination of Internet Traffic by streamed video, as well as computer games and Virtual Worlds such as Second Life and OpenSim. In recent years we have seen the free availability of high powered game engines, accompanied by widely available digitisation and modelling capabilities. Arguably we are at the edge of widely deployed browser 3D environments and Augmented reality having the fidelity capabilities needed for heritage applications.
We can predict into the future that the somewhat clunky Virtual Reality Headsets, will become smaller and more streamlined. Speaking to the possibility of widening use.

Extension of the capability of digital devices has been accompanied by extension of the availability and use of them. in the last 20 years access to the internet has increased so that now over half the worlds population can access the internet from home or at work. Furthermore for every 100 people in the UK there are now over 110 mobile phone contracts. this trend is a world wide phenomenon, with the digital divide between countries closing significantly.

This suggests that far from digital application being a barrier to people engaging with heritage, abstention from the digital domain and digital life will mean that heritage is edged out by other digital applications. Heritage organisations and practitioners rather have a responsibility for ensuring that heritage is part of peoples digital lives, which can now no longer be considered separate from real life, but rather are simply one of the forms that we live our lives through.

In order for these opportunities to be realised there are several challenges that need to be met. These are largely set out through the Seville Principles for Visualising Archaeology, which can be adopted and adapted for use more widely in the heritage sector.

1. interdisciplinarity: history, archaeology, design computer science geoscience are all relevant.
2. definition of purpose: education, research, entertainment, and reuse need considered
3. complementarity: digital works with the real not against
4. authenticity: based upon fact
5. historical rigour: based uon historic and archaeological research
6. efficiency: solutions need to be cost effective in short and long term
7. transparency: it is clear the level of confidence and accuracy for representations
8. training and evaluation: to develop the capacity of practitioners

3. Sustainable Development and Heritage

The United Nations Agenda 2030 and associated development goals and targets provide a roadmap for achieving a more peaceful and prosperous world focussed on meeting the needs of its people. Engagement with heritage is relevant to many of the goals and targets. Through empowering heritage practitioners HIVE will provide a foundation for contributing to Sustainable Development. Through addressing specific goals and targets HIVE will contribute explicitly to realising goals and targets. The following goals and target are among the most relevant. The United Nations Agenda 2030, provides a road map for addressing poverty.

The heritage sector also has a huge contribution to make in Europe, contributing to the European Green Deal in monitoring, adaptation, mitigation, and communication, promoting climate action to address the climate emergency. Digitisation of heritage artefacts creates a record of the current state of heritage which will be important in monitoring and tracking climate change. Digitisation also provides limited but valuable protection as a digital record of heritage increasingly under threat from flooding, fires and extreme weather events. Developing new ways of sharing will enable rich remote collaborations which mitigate against climate change through reducing the need for travel. Having digital representation of heritage under threat from climate change will enable heritage organisations to create exhibits, achieving engagement with heritage under threat from climate change, and motivating behaviour that addresses the climate emergency.

Heritage connects with many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and targets. Through enhancing engagement with heritage opportunities for promoting sustainable development will be created. Through exhibiting issues specifically connected with sustainable development, quality education, sustainable communities, clean energy awareness and support for UN Agenda 2030 will be enhanced.

Each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals has associated with it specific targets, some of the goals that are most relevant to heritage are given in Table 1.

The uptake of digital technologies during the COVID 19 pandemic, was a turning point for cultural heritage and cultural heritage organisations, through necessity people turned to social media, the web, virtual tours and video conferencing to engage with heritage. This demonstrated how much heritage, including museums and their collections matter to people. As evidenced in [IAJL23]1 collections impact on peoples lives. Our collections matter because they are part of defining who we are and will be part of future generations, connecting achievements of the past with visions of the future. We face many challenges, climate change, loss of biodiversity, inequality, poverty and intolerance, These can be addressed through the New Green Deal, New European Bauhaus and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Collections-based organisations, such as museums, galleries, libraries and archives are an inherent part of meeting these challenges. We can draw upon experience of the past in addressing the challenges embodied in the New Green Deal, circular economy, efficient production, communicating globally and participation in the Climate Pact which are all informed and enriched through the engagement of cultural Heritage. At the same time they can act as inspiration for making places, practices and experiences that are enriching, sustainable and inclusive.

As ICCROM’s Our Collections Matter initiative observes: Heritage collections can contribute to a sustainable future in a significant way, but not without scaling up our efforts to connect them more effectively with the challenges we see around us. Many collections-based organizations are interested in doing so but are not sure where to start or what tools to use. It is time to act together.
The digital transition offers new opportunities for engagement with our collections and heritage. Digitisation enables the creation of online collections with artefacts being represented through images and 3D models. This enables examination and manipulation of the models in ways that do not endanger the original. It facilitates sharing of heritage across boundaries and borders. It provides wider access and a cross-cultural, global collaborative platform to co-create and interact with collections. It allows property for the creation of innovative collections-based activities to concretely support sustainable development across all its dimensions. It can also enable artefacts to be reconstructed to the original state, and to be placed in their original use context enabling them to act more effectively as a gateway into the lives of our ancestors. The digital domain also offers the possibility of sharing resources such as the OCM toolkit 2, through the European data spaces and the forthcoming European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage and other initiatives.

Collections-based interventions will have the potential of bringing together diverse audiences to address the SDGs, through supporting positive attitude/behaviour change towards sustainable development. Through creating will and collecting digital representations of different types of heritage and associate metadata which connects them thematically with the Sustainable Development Goals. It is possible to support, design and create a diverse range of collections-based activities, including exhibitions, workshops, collections-mediated dialogues, decision-making scenarios, virtual reality, games, etc. drawing upon the experience of museums, galleries, libraries and archives addressing Sustainable Development through their collections as well as developing new types of interventions to effectively contribute to the UN Agenda 2030. This experience is being distilled into resources which include guides, reports, software tools and workflows, located in the Our Collections Matter Toolkits.

4. Immersive technologies

Virtual Museum experiences including (XR/AI/Mobile): Development of exemplar projects showcasing use and re use of digital content in the following contexts: Museum without walls, utilising mobile technology to extend interpretation into locales beyond the museum walls. Museum at Home, extending the reach of museum experiences via web applications into the home, schools etc, Immersive VR framework supporting immersive exhibits and exhibitions, personalised interpretation and interaction through large language model enabled characters. Development of authoring and deployment frameworks to support development of MWW, MAH, IE and PE, by small to medium museums and networks of museums. HIVE will develop a Virtual Museum Connect Infrastructure which supports the archiving of resources and their deployment in
exhibitions in the museum, at home and beyond the museum walls. Support for developing and deploying high quality heritage exhibits will make AI and XR technologies available across the value chain and support the reuse of materials.

5. Virtual Museum Infrastructure

Virtual Museum Infrastructure offers the possibility of supporting CH organisations in working with digital representations of heritage across the life cycle of media. From collecting and creating digital media of resources, through archiving with appropriate metadata, into the creation of digital exhibits which bring together galleries, maps, and virtual reality into web based anytime anywhere accessible resources, as well as mobile augmented reality, virtual museum without walls applications extend interpretation through digital enhancement of physical exhibits and the creation of immersive in museum experiences. Developed through the EU-LAC Museums, CINE and CUPIDO EU projects, a virtual museum infrastructure has been widely used in museums across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Incremental increases in the capacity and capability of computers underly the potential for holistic approaches to engagement with heritage which overcome the silos which have previously separated museums, communities, and those creating and working with digital heritage. Developing systems, metadata, and exhibits supports connecting tangible and intangible heritage, locating digital representations of artefacts within representations of their original context, and supports large scale models, placing cultural heritage within its natural environment, enable the connections between heritage to be understood, facilitating richer engagement. Whether it be digital mapping technology, virtual game environments or working with large language models, the capacity and capabilities of computers are opening new frontiers in the way that we can work and engage with heritage.

Virtual Museum Infrastructures facilitate the ability to connect all aspects of heritage together, including landscapes, heritage and people, as each aspect doesn’t occur in vacuum and are influenced by the others. This in turn enables holistic treatment of Cultural Landscapes, where a Cultural Landscape represents the combined works of man and nature. The aggregation of heritage associated with a location and by extension with the community will enable heritage to be mobilised in support of communities’ sustainable development goals.

Digital Representation of Cultural Landscapes: Integration of HIVE, Virtual Museum and GIS technologies to deliver holistic interpretation of heritage which supports reuse of digital assets across the range of deployment scenarios and on the range of platforms. Opensource platform will enable HBIM, Game Engines, Web and App technologies to work together utilising emergent technologies including Large Language models, Virtual Humans, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. This will improve both the quality of engagement with heritage, documentation and the accessibility of heritage.

Connecting Cultural Landscape and Community with Sustainable Development. Through connecting community with cultural landscape, this will enable its heritage to be connected with susttainable development goals of the associated community. Through providing support for working digital representations of Cultural Landscapes heritage organisations will be better equipped to address sustainable development goals for example to deliver Quality Education, contribute to Sustainable Communities, contribute to equality and fairness and enhance the economy.

5.1. Enhanced Museum Experience

Enhancing the museum experience: support for digital content and exhibitions in the museum. This will include framework for immersive and interactive exhibits, as well as support for creation of personalised interpretation frameworks. The framework will enable integration of computer game, HBIM and audiovisual materials into exhibits and exhibitions, offering immersive engaging and interactive experiences that enhance visitors’ experience. The enhanced Museum in this scenario, visitors could use an XR equipment that present 3D representations of CH objects directly in their view. As they move around the physical exhibit space, they could virtually grasp and manipulate the digital object, something not possible with real artefacts, examining its details in real-time. At the same time, the Virtual Heritage Character (VHC), the AI-based virtual human, would engage the visitor in conversation, providing historical context, cultural references, and interactive Q and A. By enabling real-time 3D object manipulation combined with conversational interactions, we aim to set a new standard for cultural engagement, transforming static displays with visitors and heritage objects into dynamic and interactive experiences. This solution would be beneficial beyond physical museums since the methods could be adapted for virtual reality setups, museum at home visits, and museum without walls, ensuring democratic and immersive opportunities to explore a wide range of cultural expressions independent of your geographical location.

5.2. Virtual Museum Without Walls

The Virtual Museum Without Walls, enables museums to extend interpretation beyond their walls to include the surrounding land, city and sea scapes. These make take various forms, for example a trail app, providing guided tours of the local landscape. This may include augmented reality, as well as location aware and orientation aware services. Augmented reality enables objects, buildings and people to appear in appropriate locations, whilst virtual reality enables a virtual binocular type experience, which enables the user to see into the past.
5.3. Museum at Home

The World Wide Web provides a global infrastructure enabling anytime anywhere access to resources. This enables museums to use the Internet to provide museum at home services. This may include virtual tours, via the web or social media, interactive maps, embedded in web pages and interactive galleries, which contain 3D models as well images and videos. The museum at home experience expanded greatly during the COVID 19 epidemic and continues to diversify as technologies develop.

6. Use Cases from Highlands and islands of Scotland

Heritage is important to the Highlands and islands of Scotland, both in terms of contributing to the identity of remote communities and contributing to the local economies through encouraging tourism. In this section we will discuss three case studies, where museums have embraced immersive and mobile technologies to improve access to and engagement with their heritage. These case studies will focus on but not be limited to the West Highland Museum, located in Fort William and the Lochaber area of the highlands, the Timespan Museum, located in the Northern Highlands in Sutherland.

6.1. Finlaggan Lords of the Isles

Finlaggan Trust is located in the Hebrides of Scotland. The site was the seat of the Lords of the Isles from the 12th to 16th Century, ruling an area stretching from Ireland to the Highlands of Scotland.

Important for the development of Gaelic cultural and the formation of both Scottish and Irish national identities. The cultural landscape is made up the striking natural heritage, which is in turn under threat from Climate Change. Islay is vulnerable to both the rising sea levels being a low lying island and to storms, extreme weather and flooding. The decline of Gaelic usage also threatens the intangible cultural heritage of the island. The Trust has engaged in a program of digitisation, creating 3D models of artefacts associated with the site, as well as a 3D reconstruction of the site located in the museum. In addition to the archaeology and general research about the site, there has also been research into characters and dress, and digital avatars populate the site in occupations that are realistic. The Trust has also engaged in outreach work working with the 6 primary schools in the area and the High School, in creating digital resources and virtual tours. The is also strong connection with community and with other museums in the Lordship area and with an international diaspora. Previous work has progressed in digitising, developing digital models of the site and characters on the site as well as interpretation. This has been coupled with working in the community, including schools, developing, virtual museum without walls apps and immersive museum experiences. The nature of the heritage makes Islay a good place to trial HIVE toolkits, services and infrastructure. It will enable us to trial the use of content within multiple contexts. These include: any time anywhere access which allows museum experience to be had at home, in schools or in accommodations, museum without walls allowing access and interaction with both the archaeological site of the seatof the Lordship and with wider Lordship, thirdly it enables interactive experiences to be had in the museum, including immersive experience and AI guided narratives. Additionally, research into dress and activities will enable trialling virtual humans, integrating Large language models whilst addressing correctness, accuracy and relevance to the topic. Building on GIS, Virtual Museum and HHBIM technologies will add richness and depth to interactions with heritage associated with the Cultural Landscape of the Isles. Both climate action and preservation of intangible heritage are important aspects, which can be partially addressed through holistic approach to digitisation and engagement with heritage. FT will connect with Museums in the Hebrides, Ireland and Scotland. This will include The Museum of island life on Skye, West Highland Museum, in the highlands of Scotland, and Donegal County Museum in Ireland. The site has a small museum and visitors centre. It connects with an international diaspora together with museums in Skye, the Highlands and Ireland. Existing digital assets include digital scans of artefacts, and objects, 3D reconstruction of Finlaggan in the 15th Century, as well as intangible heritage related to language and culture. These have been deployed as immersive exhibits in a) the museum as an immersive interactive experience, b) museum without walls mobile app and c) anytime anywhere museum experiences, used in schools. These will incorporate Memory Twin and HHBIM. Audiences include visitors and tourists, community and schools. Through the project aim to explore the development of an Island wide virtual museum supporting re use in context. This will include engagement with historic characters and AI. Developed for use in a small heritage centre, which looks after internationally significant heritage, the use case demonstrates the applicability of HIVE tools for enhancing interaction with heritage objects and visitors in small museums. This will qualitatively extend the accessibility of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Artificial intelligence to museums and CH organisations across Europe and Worldwide. There are several museums connected with the Lords of the Isles (e.g: Museum of island Life on Skye) who would be able to directly take up and replicate content. Further replication will be through connecting with AVICOM and ICOM triennial conference.

6.1.1. Timespan Museum and the Strath of Kildonan

Helmsdale Heritage and Arts Society, commonly known as Timespan, was founded in 1986 with the main aim of providing the community and visitors with an insight into the rich heritage of Helmsdale and its surrounding area. Timespan is in the historic fishing village of Helmsdale on the 58°latitude, on the east coast of Sutherland, in the North Highlands of Scotland. In 2009 an R+D report established a new direction for the art programming, aiming to bridge arts, heritage, and community. Timespan has an international profile for its contemporary art programme, digital heritage, and local history research. We provide a rich cultural programme of events and activities for the 17,000+ people from near and far who visit and engage with us every year. Timespan’s approach is multidisciplinary and intersectional, we work with a broad range of sectors in the cultural and creative fields, and more recently the environmental and wellbeing sector. Our priority is to be a civic and useful village organisation and our communities are central to our programmes and organisation. These principles constitute our Timespan Heritage Manifesto VR Room (Exhibit and Demo): Timespan’s new digital venue will is a crucial asset for developing and testing new technologies and tools for digitising Cultural Heritage objects from diverse collections and making them accessible through VR and AR immersive experiences. The space can accommodate multiple exhibits and has been custom designed for VR, Xbox, and touchscreen interactivity. Timespan Object Collection: Timespan’s collection offers HERITALISE the opportunity to develop resilient object and artefact visualisation techniques for entire objects and incomplete artefacts, and a range of natural material types. These themes can be found in most European contexts and are useful indicators of environmental and social change. Kildonan Landscape and Archaeology: Timespan is a museum without walls embedded in the surrounding landscape of sea, coast, hill, and river. This is our greatest asset stretching back over 6,000 years of human occupation with
the multi-period archaeological remains of buildings, cultivation, ritual sites, and artefact object locations. Helmsdale Fishing Village and Jurassic Coastline: The historic fishing village of Helmsdale was built in 1815 to take centre stage in a thriving Scottish fishing industry with trading networks to the West Indies, Ireland, Baltic, and Europe. The Timespan building was a former curing yard where herring were gutted, salted, and packed in barrels for export overseas. In 2017-2020, Timespan and Open Virtual Worlds created an accurate VR reconstruction model of the village as it appeared in 1890 at the height of the herring boom. Community Groups and Museum Sector: HHAS and USTAN (Open Virtual Worlds team) collaborated on a programme of online public events from May to July 2020 which attracted high audiences and lots of discussion. The events provided an opportunity to share the new digital model reconstructions, 3D objects, and narrated films. The events included Heritage at Home: Digital artefacts from the Timespan collection, A Virtual Tour of Helmsdale Castle, Real Rights Launch, Iron Age Kildonan: Roundhouse Farming Settlement, and Clearances Longhouse Settlement 1813: Digital Reconstruction.
This demonstration site will provide a high degree of replicability. Being a small arts museum in the Highlands of Scotland, digital tools and resources successfully deployed here will also be appropriate for many museums across the European Union, that perhaps do not have the resources of large National or Metropolitan museums.

6.1.2. Clearances and the Strath of Kildonan

The Highlands of Scotland occupy the cooler northern section of Great Britain. Whilst today few people live in many highland areas, many of the Straths and glens supported substantial populations from the neolithic period (3200 BC) thorough to the clearances in the 18th Century. Whilst people faced natural challenges, and they were struggling with survival since suitable lands in the Highlands for cultivation, the parish of Kildonan was able to support a population of 1440 in 1801, but this fell to 257 in 1831 [Jan]. In 1800, Scotland was largely an agricultural society. And in the early 1800s, the textile industry grew. Highlanders before the clearances were largely selfsufficient, producing most of their food, making clothing from wool, and building their own homes. They relied on local resources and shared labour within the community [Rod]. People who lived in the Strath before the clearances cropped and ate oats as their staple since resilient oats could grow even in harsh climates. Their dwellings were made of perishable organic materials such as turf or straw. In those days, Scottish Highlanders recycled their construction materials of their houses annually. After thatch or turf walls were taken down, they could be used for field manure [Dev18]. The Highlands of Scotland occupy the cooler northern section of Great Britain. Whilst today few people live in many highland areas, many of the Straths and glens supported substantial populations from the neolithic period (3200 BC) thorough to the clearances in the 18th Century. Whilst people faced natural challenges, and they were struggling with survival since suitable lands in the Highlands for cultivation, the parish of Kildonan was able to support a population of 1440 in 1801, but this fell to 257 in 1831 [Jan].
In 1800, Scotland was largely an agricultural society. And in the early 1800s, the textile industry grew. Highlanders before the clearances were largely self-sufficient, producing most of their food,making clothing from wool, and building their own homes. They relied on local resources and shared labour within the community [Rod]. People who lived in the Strath before the clearances cropped and ate oats as their staple since resilient oats could grow even in harsh climates. Their dwellings were made of perishable organic materials such as turf or straw. In those days, Scottish Highlanders recycled their construction materials of their houses annually. After thatch or turf walls were taken down, they could be used for field manure [Dev18]. As a small township in the Scottish Highlands, it sits in the lower part of the Strath of Kildonan around a mile from Helmsdale [Ali20], this area was cleared by the representative improvers of the Duke of Sutherland between 1813 and 1819. Several families resisted the clearances since they had lived in the land for generations. However, many longhouses were abandoned and destroyed as landowners evicted tenants to make way for more profitable sheep farming during the Highland Clearances even though these
longhouses are essential for these families to live [Tima]. Today, only clusters of stones left as the remaining ruins of the heritage landscape [Timb]. Historical accuracy of scenes avoids misleading interpretation and dissemination. The integrity of heritage scenes helps users experience a past that truly existed and supports the connections between community and culture.

6.2. West Highland Museum

The West Highland Museum is one of the oldest museums in the Scottish Highlands, situated in Fort William and founded in 1922. The museum’s collections span a wide range of subjects, from archaeology to modern industry, with a special emphasis on the Jacobite risings of the 18th century and Commando training in the area in World War II. Many of our objects are rare and iconic such as the Secret Portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie. The Alexander Carmichael collection is an important collection of objects of Gaelic material culture collected in the C19 and C20th. Since 2020 we have been working with the University of St Andrews to create digital resources both at the museum in the physical space and online. The introduction of our whm100.org gallery, created by the St Andrews team started our journey to digitisation and has been an invaluable resource. The virtual museum has also proven popular with audiences. Both the gallery and virtual museum can be ac cessed directly or via our website. A virtual reality experience was installed in the gallery in December 2022 which recreates the fort at Fort William in 1746 when the fort was under siege by the Jacobites. This immersive experience has proven popular with families and has brought younger audiences in touch with CH, encouraging local families who would not normally engage, to visit us.

Jacobite Collection: Items of material culture associated with the Jacobite Risings of the 17th and 18th century, with particular focus on objects in our collection related to the 1745 Jacobite Rising which started here in Lochaber. Our Jacobite collection has a global appeal and digitisation of these objects will enable online engagement. Alexander Carmichael Collection: The collection includes an eclectic range of objects from the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Objects associated with the Jacobites such as a stool once sat on by Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald’s fan. The collection is an important reflection on the lost Gaelic culture of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Aural Archive: We also hold an important aural archive of recordings of highland life from the 1950s, which provides context for the highland area of Lochaber on the West Coast. The Museum building: The West Highland Museum is a Category B listed building and the site of the old Linen Bank. We plan to digitise the Jacobite and Carmichael collections. The museum is about to embark on an ambitious project to treble its size. This would be a good opportunity to digitise the rest of the building to create a museum of a museum so that the museum as it is now can be preserved in digitised form and explored by members of the public. We will develop exhibits for the museum, web and app, platforms. Through this use case we will explore the digitisation of landscapes, buildings, art works and CH objects together with intangible heritage relating to the lost Gaelic culture of the Highlands and islands of Scotland. Visual and non-visual data for the collections will be ingested into the ECCCH and in this way made available to the Timespan Museum to work with in their collections. Digital exhibits will be created to demonstrate VR kiosks
in two modes. In mode one interactions via touch screen/game controller will be used. In mode two a headset will be combined with screen to give individual immersion and group view. The use cases are highly replicable. West Highland Museum is a relatively small museum with 4 staff members and visitors of some 90,000 a year. Located in Fort William it does not have specialist technology support, and so is a good test for the technologies developed.

7. Projects and prospects

7.1. HERITALISE

The HERITALISE project summary states: HERITALISE mission is to research and develop advanced digitisation techniques and solutions for documenting and representing diverse CH assets, giving a full comprehension of the diverse CH features, visible and non-visible. In addition, AI-powered tools including Machine Learning (ML) will be developed for improved and optimised data post-processing and integration based on standard and expanded methodologies. All this will be connected through a knowledge graph environment that allows the individual aspects known about the CH object to be related and retrievable. As with Wikipedia, by following links it will be possible to learn more about a particular object, what research has been done, and what results have been derived from it. HERITALISE will provide the upcoming ECCCH with a interoperable web-based Ecosystem, advanced input data from improved digitalisation methodologies and preservation supporting tools, which will be achieved by meeting the following General Objectives (GO) and setting the conditions for a wide-scale replicability and scalability across European CH institutions/organisations across European CH institutions/organisations:

GO1: State-of-the-art review of current digitisation standards and methodologies defining the data requirements for Cultural Heritage tangible and intangible objects

GO2: Improve 3D/2D Data acquisition methods and technologies

GO3: Data post-processing methods and technologies will be adopted, including new AI-powered digitisation methods and the development of data fusion techniques to mix various multimodal digitisation approaches (multisensory, multiscale, multispectral, external and internal)

GO4: Development of methodologies and solutions as Hardware (HW) and/or Software (SW) services

GO5: Development of ECCCH-compliant open interoperability components enabling connecting and sharing data and modular services in a distributed web-based architecture

GO6: Increasing the Impact of current and developing digitisation technologies

7.2. CULTURALITY

The CULTURALITY project summary states: The main objective of the project is to contribute to the promotion of cultural and creative tourism activities, considering the different capacities, resources, and specificities (material, creative, human…) of the territories, as a mean to help with the sustainable development of peripheral rural areas, favoring job creation and population settlement. For this, the potential of its cultural heritage will be researched, taking into account both the artisan material culture (techniques, materials, patterns and decorative elements), as well as the intangible culture (music, oral knowledge and culinary traditions) as a resource. To promote non-seasonal tourism as a form of sustainable development with a stable population settlement we are going to research the crafts linked to the territory and their implications, but we will also carry out a documentation of the productive processes. First and foremost, we are going to cater to the necessities of the local communities and pay attention to aspects related to societal groups at risk of exclusion, such as women, the elderly and the youth. All this will be developed from a multidisciplinary perspective, for which we will count on the various teams —most of them linked to different countries— that will be part of the consortium. Each of these partners will contribute to the development, as well as to the final result of the project through input directly related to their area of expertise: for example, among the collaborators we have intellectual teams specialized in the digitalization of heritage, research, or communication and dissemination, as well as as various institutions that will act as a testing ground for the more practical parts of the proposal. However, if something will characterize our work, it will be the constant collaboration between all parties, as well as the exchange of advice and experiences that will help to enrich collective knowledge and guarantee optimal results.

8. Results and Impacts

However, the user experience in virtual reconstruction is limited when they only include static objects and landscapes [MDC18]. In this case, populating virtual humans in historic scenes can enrich the environment and artefacts by enhancing the impressions, becoming informative and immersive. As part of intangible cultural heritage, historical characters represent an important vehicle of cultural diversity. Their existence and authenticity are highly relevant to respond to the cultural identity of communities in terms of historical and social evolution [Len11].

9. Results & Discussion

Exploring the past life of people who lived around the clearance period showcases the intersections among the land, nature, culture, and communities. For instance, their custom of using reusable materials to recycle houses as well as their small-scale farming practices, which relied on crops, lands, and livestock, were relatively sustainable for the environment. However, the evictions on the tenants who lived for generations on the Highland resulted in the wide displacement of communities and an enforced economic shift on sheep farming. The intensive form of land use for short-term profitable businesses on sheep farming destroyed the sustainable use of the land and natural resources, while the clearances brought about significant social change through forcing people off their land and lifestyle to become property or emigrate for survival. In this sense, revisiting the past in the Strath of Kildonan represents the understanding, reflection, and challenges of sustainable development on today and the future.

10. Conclusions

The reconstruction of authentic historical characters using immersive virtual reality strengthens the memory and identity of individuals and lost communities living in the heritage legacy to connect with the cultural learning and engagement.

References

[Ali20] ALISON CAMPSIE: Tour a lost highland settlement destroyed during clearances, 2020. 8
[Dev18] DEVINE T. M.: The Scottish Clearances: A History of the Dispossessed, 1st ed. Allen Lane, 2018. 8
[Jan] JANE N HARRIS: Kildonan, sutherland – the clearances trail. 8
[KFM∗13] KENNEDY S., FAWCETT R., MILLER A., DOW L., SWEETMAN R., FIELD A., CAMPBELL A., OLIVER I., MCCAFFERY J., ALLISON C.: Exploring canons & cathedrals with open virtual worlds: The recreation of st andrews cathedral, st andrews day, 1318. 2013 Digital Heritage International Congress (DigitalHeritage) 2 (2013), 273–280. 1
[Len11] LENZERINI F.: Intangible cultural heritage: The living culture of peoples. European Journal of International Law 22, 1 (02 2011), 101–120. 9
[MDC18] MACHIDON O. M., DUGULEANA M., CARROZZINO M.: Virtual humans in cultural heritage ict applications: A review. Journal of Cultural Heritage 33 (2018), 249–260. Cultural heritage in times of armed conflicts in the Middle East: Much more than material damage? 9
[Rod] RODDIE MACPHERSON: Farming & clearance. 8
[TH14] TINDLEY A., HAYNES H.: The river helmsdale and strath ullie, c. 1780–c. 1820: A historical perspective of societal and environmental influences on land management. Scottish Geographical Journal 130, 1 (2014), 35–50. 8
[Tima] TIMESPAN MUSEUM: Excavation project design. 8
[Timb] TIMESPAN MUSEUM: Timespan virtual museum. 8

Make it last: Exploring Sustainable Digital Communication

Avigail Rotbain / Sofie Öberg Magnusson

In theory, the digital space of a museum offers endless opportunities for learning and collaboration. In reality, museum websites are often limited to displaying current projects but commonly lacking engaging elements (Kabassi 2016). This paper explores how anchoring a museum’s online presence in co-creation, interactivity, and inclusion, can promote a more sustainable digital paradigm. Such a paradigm would allow the accumulated knowledge and creative outputs to serve as a continuous resource for exploration and learning for both internal and external users.

Introduction

A museum is an institution with numerous stakeholders and a significant degree of responsibility. Its mission encompasses preserving and providing access to the cultural heritage contained within its collections, while maintaining respect for both the origins of these artifacts and the visitors who engage with them. The Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (Faro Convention 2005) asserts that “everyone, alone or collectively, has the right to benefit from the cultural heritage and to contribute towards its enrichment” (Article 4, emphasis added). Furthermore, it stipulates that the signatory parties commit to encouraging public participation in “the process of identification, study, interpretation, protection, conservation, and presentation of the cultural heritage” (Article 12).

In the case of the National Museums of World Culture in Sweden (NMWC), the organization’s mission, as directed by the Swedish government (2007:1185), is to engage in activities that are relevant to all members of society and to collaborate with national and international museums and other organizations to achieve the widest possible geographical reach. Clearly, this goal is challenging to achieve with physical museums alone. The digital format, however, provides opportunities for outreach and accessibility that are unparalleled by the limitations of a physical building.

It is often argued that a digital experience cannot fully replicate the impact of physically visiting a museum, which is undeniably true. However, this perspective may stem from a tendency to view digital museums as merely inferior substitutes for their physical counterparts, rather than recognizing them as a distinct media with unique potential. This perspective also lacks the notion of inclusivity for those who cannot physically visit a museum. The digital medium provides museums with a powerful platform to reach broader and more diverse audiences beyond their physical locations. It facilitates interactive and dynamic engagement with content, allowing museums to continuously update and expand their offerings, enhance accessibility, and promote deeper exploration and connection with their collections and exhibitions (Bocullo 2023; Pioli 2023; Zheng et al. 2024).

Aim and scope

Previous research indicates the need for a digital approach in which cultural institutions aim to design interfaces that are easy to use, interactive experiences, and innovative ways of engaging with communities and individuals (Bocullo 2023; Pioli 2023; Zheng et al. 2024). In a recent case study, Yutong Zheng et al. states that by using interactive segments “users are actively engaged in exploring cultural relics and museum narratives. This not only enriches their knowledge but also fosters a sense of personal connection to the artifacts and institutions.” This approach ensures the inclusivity and sustainability of cultural heritage (Pioli 2023; Zheng et al. 2024). Similarly, Bocullo states that there are missed opportunities to enhance digital accessibility in the cultural sector. She argues that “We already have a technological ability and advancement to develop not just a smart and digital society, but a digital participatory culture as space for co-existing and co-experience for those under physical constraints” (Bocullo 2023).

This paper aims to explore how museums can utilize digital spaces to foster a more sustainable and engaging paradigm for knowledge sharing and cultural heritage preservation. By anchoring a museum’s online presence in co-creation, interactivity, and inclusion, the study examines how digital tools and strategies could extend the reach and impact of museum resources, transforming them into dynamic, continuously evolving assets. Specifically, this paper discusses ways in which a museum’s digital presence could be designed to promote sustainable engagement and interactivity, ensuring that accumulated knowledge and creative outputs remain valuable over time. The scope of this study focuses on the potential of digital platforms to not only replicate but also enhance the physical museum experience by promoting active participation and engagement from a broader audience.

We will examine these aspects of digital presence through two case studies from the NMWC. The first case study explores the intended use versus the actual outcome of a digital resource on sustainable museum practices aimed at museum professionals. The second case focuses on the current and potential future presentation of past exhibitions, with the goal of enhancing their longevity.

Case 1: The digital sustainability platform

The topic of sustainability has become increasingly significant for the museum community, evolving from a peripheral concern to an essential component of museum operations. The 2019 ICOM resolution On Sustainability and the Implementation of Agenda 2030, Transforming Our World underscores the role of museums as trusted institutions with the potential to contribute positively to sustainable development. It highlights both the opportunities and responsibilities museums have to promote sustainability, while also calling for a reduction in the negative environmental impact caused by the museum’s activities.

According to Sarah Sutton et al., museums have a unique opportunity to mobilize the public by “telling the story of climate change and sharing climate solutions in ways that connect to the lives of everyday people. Museums can educate visitors about the full range of causes, impacts and responses to pressing environmental concerns” (Sutton et al. 2017, p.157). The NMWC has embraced this role, actively working to raise awareness and encourage new perspectives on sustainability through various initiatives. One of the most prominent examples is the exhibition Human Nature, a collaborative effort with researchers that focused on SDG 12, promoting sustainable consumption and production. This exhibition aimed to highlight the effects of unsustainable consumption and waste in developed regions while presenting alternative ways of living. Additionally, the NMWC has engaged in other sustainability-related efforts, including educational programs for teachers on the SDGs, public events, podcasts, and research initiatives that address both social and environmental sustainability.

To align with its public information and awareness-raising activities, the organization recognized the need to look inward and strengthen its commitment to social responsibility and minimizing its negative environmental impact. An environmental management system was implemented, leading to the development of new and updated policies and practices. These initiatives were communicated online to ensure that the organization’s dedication to sustainability issues was both visible and accessible to the public on the NMWC website.

Reducing the environmental impact of a museum organization, however, proved to be complex. To browse existing knowledge and learn from good examples, the NMWC organized a national conference for museum professionals in Sweden in September 2019. The aim was to discuss sustainable practices, share experiences, and explore common challenges and potential solutions. The participants proposed creating a shared digital resource that would provide museum-specific information, dialogue and examples related to sustainability and adapted to Swedish conditions. The NMWC committed to developing this platform and began with a pilot study to assess interest and ensure that the content would be relevant and tailored to its intended audience.

The intention with the platform was to establish a joint mission to enhance sustainability efforts of Swedish museums, through creating a website where existing knowledge, good examples, tips and possibilities for collaboration was central. With the COVID-19 pandemic however, the organization faced economic hardships, and the financial and human resources had to be distributed with restraint. This resulted in the digital resource being incorporated as a section within the NMWC’s existing website rather than being developed as a standalone domain. Consequently, the possibilities of creating interactive elements and modes for collaborative editing of the content were abandoned. The result was a standard webpage, thematically organized around various areas of museum activities, featuring texts on how to enhance sustainability within each area.

In the article “Museums and Strategic Silence” (Rotbain & Öberg 2024), we argue that the lack of resources and genuine commitment to investing in the site led it to a state of limbo, where its intended purpose remained unfulfilled, leaving it perpetually “under construction.” As discussed in the article, this could be seen as a deliberate or unintentional strategy to appear committed to sustainability efforts, even though these efforts are relatively modest. Building on that discussion, we further argue here that another reason the site remains underutilized, despite the expressed interest, is a misguided approach to targeting specific groups, combined with an ambiguous and somewhat inaccessible digital structure. In hindsight, it is worth considering whether it was necessary to specifically target the museum community with this information.

As the purpose of the site and consequently the target group had been so distinct, it was naturally treated as something separate from the sustainability information directed toward the public. However, segmenting the information and tailoring it for a specific target group creates navigational challenges and demands additional resources for upkeep, whether the site exists as a separate platform or a sub-category within the general NMWC website.

In retrospect the specific targeting of the museum community might have been an unnecessary delimitation. While some content may be more relevant to museum professionals, there is little reason to separate it from sustainability information intended for the public, even if the original idea of interactivity and co-creation had been included. By presenting the information in a more generalised and inclusive format, the website could facilitate collaboration and interaction not only with museum staff, but also students, researchers, the business sector, and interested visitors. This broader approach would enhance the site’s potential as a knowledge resource, making it more sustainable and effective by expanding the range of users and contributors.

This raises the question of whether such an approach could be applied to other areas of online content as well. Could it be that our enthusiasm for creating tailored content for specific target groups leads to unintentionally excluding those who do not identify with the labels we have created? If so, we may miss out on potential synergies and valuable input. Such an outcome would be contrary to our intentions and the principles outlined in the Faro Convention, as discussed earlier.

The case of the sustainability website highlights the need to reconsider how museums approach target audiences in the digital space. By moving away from narrowly defined target groups and embracing a more inclusive and open-ended design, museums can make their digital resources more accessible and appealing to a wider audience. Accessibility should not be treated as a separate theme but as a fundamental principle that underpins all aspects of museum work, ensuring that every visitor can engage with the content. This shift would not only reduce the unintended exclusions that arise from overly specific categorization but also foster greater engagement and dialogue. By leveraging co-creation and interactive elements, museums can transform their digital presence into a two-way conversation rather than a one-way broadcast. This approach would enhance the sustainability of museum resources by maximizing the use of staff expertise and existing knowledge, broadening the reach of digital content, and encouraging continuous, meaningful interaction with diverse audiences.

Case 2: Reuse and repurpose exhibitions

Historically, there has been an issue of insufficient documentation for exhibitions at Swedish museums, a problem likely prevalent worldwide. Bergvall (2022), Bäckström (2016), and Rotbain (2024) have discussed the persistence of this issue throughout the late 20th century. This lack of documentation extends beyond exhibitions to a broader problem within museum practices. We believe that this is also a sustainability issue. It represents a waste of resources when significant amounts of money and human effort are invested in projects that, due to inadequate documentation, cannot be revisited. This unsustainable practice is particularly concerning for museums, which often operate on tight budgets. When an exhibition is dismantled, the accumulated knowledge and resources are seldom repurposed or reused. This stands in contrast to other cultural institutions, such as the Gothenburg Opera (and many other opera houses and theatres), which maintains a repertoire of performances that can be revisited periodically.

We observe that when museums reuse and repurpose accumulated knowledge and resources, it often happens sporadically or incidentally. Although MNWC, as a state-founded museum, has strict guidelines for archiving documents from the exhibition production, we lack a comprehensive plan for “publicly archiving” or reusing these materials – whether in the physical museum space or digitally.

Is it possible to reuse or repurpose analog exhibitions in a digital environment? At the NMWC, digital promotional and informational texts for exhibitions were previously archived on an external website under a “Previous Exhibitions” page. This approach is common on many museum websites. However, when NMWC launched a completely new website in 2020, this concept was discontinued. The decision was based on the argument that the information was irrelevant, cluttered the site, and made it difficult to navigate. Only after repeated requests from external users and appeals from museum staff was the concept reinstated, albeit with minimal attention.

While this documentation enhances accessibility, its primary purpose is to entice and inspire people to visit the exhibition. Once the exhibitions are no longer on display in the physical space, the content loses much of its value. The texts and images fail to offer in-depth knowledge or post-exhibition analysis. Instead, they may be perceived as simply showcasing a successful track record of exhibitions, without offering any digital content truly worth exploring.

One possible way to achieve a form of reuse is by developing an easy-to-use standard model. The “Previous Exhibitions” section of the Wellcome Collection in the UK could serve as a source of inspiration for such a template at NMWC. Like most museums, the Wellcome Collection provide the original web text used to promote the exhibitions while they were on display. However, it also includes a “Highlights” section for each exhibition, featuring a slideshow of 7–15 images from the exhibition space, objects, or historical photographs, each accompanied by a short text. At the Wellcome Collection, this is done during the promotional stage while the exhibition is still running.

To further develop this idea, a similar approach could be taken during the post-exhibition evaluation process, incorporating feedback or ideas from the audience. Since these photos and most of the texts are already created during the exhibition production or as part of promotional social media content, only a smaller curatorial effort would be required to implement this.

The digital space facilitates greater co-creation and interactivity. While we occasionally make changes to physical exhibitions based on input and feedback, this typically happens only when shed light on questionable or even inappropriate aspects of the display. In contrast to the physical exhibition, digital exhibitions have the potential to be more dynamic. Their ongoing accessibility makes them valuable sources of information and inspiration for students, artists, and others, allowing for continuous discussion of the objects and exhibitions. We can also receive input on digital exhibitions, just as we do with physical ones. In the digital space, feedback can come from a wider audience, and updates or modifications can often be made more quickly and with fewer resources than in a physical setting. This environment encourages continuous dialogue and co-creation. Additionally, the use of standardized templates for digital exhibitions streamlines the update process, making it easier for more staff members to learn and use the tools effectively.

The NMWC have sought to work more sustainably with the knowledge produced in our physical exhibitions. Over the past few years, the NMWC has produced numerous exhibitions customized to be displayed at its museum’s both in Gothenburg and Stockholm. The assumption is that most visitors are locals and rarely travel between the two cities to visit both sites. Although much of the physical production must be created from scratch, the intellectual content can be reused with minimal additional resources. This approach could also be applied to the digital space, which has the potential to reach an even larger audience.

The smaller format and readily curated databank of digital exhibitions can also be utilized in physical spaces. There are occasions when a small exhibition or a single showcase is needed quickly – such as in response to a current event or when a small space becomes temporarily available due to shifts in planning. In these cases, substantial resources are often devoted to creating something new on short notice. Although the results are frequently of high quality, the resource allocation can be unsustainable for something that is only displayed for a few months. By leveraging a databank of small, concise exhibitions or themes from larger exhibitions, it would be possible to repurpose elements from previous exhibitions with fewer resources.

Discussion

The NMWC may need to rethink how we approach target groups. In the first case of the sustainability website, its impact was limited because it targeted only museum professionals, despite the fact that many others are interested in topics related to museums and sustainability. Similarly, most of NMWC’s digital resources are designed for very specific audiences. Much of the digital material is created for school education, with tags such as “for upper secondary school.” This makes it far less likely that someone who is not a teacher or a student in a particular grade would explore the content.

In physical exhibitions, we take a different approach. Although exhibitions are often planned with target groups in mind, these groups are usually broader and more diverse. There is also no sign at the entrance stating, “For ages 8–12” or “For young men unfamiliar with museums,” as this would clearly discourage many potential visitors. The same principle should apply to the digital space: while we may have specific target groups in mind, we should also avoid labels that may exclude others.

The digital format naturally lends itself to being dynamic and adaptable, making it easy to implement changes and updates. However, keeping digital content “alive” is not just an opportunity – it’s a necessity to maintain its relevance and appeal to visitors. Simply creating and uploading digital content without revisiting it is like setting up a permanent or temporary physical exhibition and then neglecting it, without paying any attention to its upkeep or incorporating feedback from visitors. Interactivity and co-creation could serve as valuable tools in this context, allowing digital visitors to provide comments and feedback that guide the evolution of the digital exhibition or content. This approach also opens up opportunities for third parties to further develop the content beyond the museum walls, whether that be through art, research, or initiatives we cannot yet foresee.

There is much discussion about how museums can operate more sustainably, addressing everything from waste materials to social sustainability. However, an often overlooked waste of resources is the accumulated knowledge within museums. Instead of continually reinventing knowledge that is already acquired or curating exhibitions from scratch when we already have relevant content, we could focus on reusing and repurposing our existing knowledge and materials and widen our view of who it is for.

In conclusion, rethinking how we approach target groups and embracing a more inclusive and adaptable digital strategy could enhance the reach and impact of our museum’s digital presence. By broadening our focus beyond narrowly defined audiences and utilizing digital formats to engage a wider community, we can foster a more sustainable and participatory approach to cultural heritage. This shift not only preserves resources and knowledge but also enriches the museum experience for all, ensuring that our digital content remains vibrant, relevant, and inclusive.

References

Bergvall, Margareta. 2022. ”Människan och den långa historien”. In Nordbäck, Carola & Rotbain, Avigail (eds.). Ekokritik och museipedagogik: i skuggan av antropocen.

Bäckström, Mattias. 2016. Att bygga innehåll med utställningar: utställningsproduktion som forskningprocess.

Bocullo, Donata. 2023. “Navigating gaps in museum accessibility discourse and practices: conceptualisation of humanistic and sustainable participatory culture for all”. In Challenges and social responsibility in business. International Applied Research Conference Proceedings.

Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (Faro Convention). 2005.

Förordning (2007:1185) med instruktion för Statens museer för världskultur.

Kabassi, Katerina. 2016. “Evaluating websites of museums: State of the art”. Journal of Cultural heritage.

On sustainability and the implementation of Agenda 2030, Transforming our world. 2019. ICOM Resolution No.1.

Pioli, Marta. 2023. “Cultural heritage 2.0. Digitalisation as a new form of communication.” Universitá Ca’Foscari Venezia.

Rotbain, Avigail. 2024. ”The Nazi’s mummy: the afterlife of a woman from Taltal”. Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals.

Rotbain, Avigail & Öberg Magnusson, Sofie. Forthcoming 2024. “Museums and strategic silence: a case study of sustainability shortcomings”. ICOM Paraguay.

Sutton, Sarah W. & Wylie, Elizabeth & Economopoulos, Beka & O’Brien, Carter & Shapiro, Stephanie & Xu, Shengyin. 2017. “Museums and the future of a healthy world: Just Verdant and Peaceful”. Curator: The Museum Journal: Volume 60, issue 2.

The Wellcome Collections: Exhibitions | Wellcome Collection (retrived 22-08-2024).

Zheng, Yutong & Jia, Wenqi & Zhang, Meng Ting & Wang, Ruijie. 2024. “Enchancing Cultural communication and Sustainability in Museum-Based Creative Products Through Digital Integration.” In F. Ying et al. International Symposium on World Ecological Design.

Communicating Environmental Crisis through Immersive Experiences: Indonesian Museum’s Perspectives¹

Salsabilla Sakinah, PhD Student at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture Cardiff University

Introduction

Amidst the global environmental crisis, a pertinent discussion is taking place around the role of museums in shaping society’s norms and values. Approaching the 21^st century, in line with the growing movement of decolonising the museums that challenge the museums’ inherent colonial policies, principles and practices, the push for the social role of the museum was strengthened and the notion of museum activism emerged as a post-colonial vision (Brown and Mairesse, 2018; Chipangura and Marufu, 2019; Anderson, 2020; Bekenova, 2023). Janes and Sandell (2019:1) described museum activism as “divergent expressions of the museum’s inherent power as a force for good… that is intended to bring about political, social and environmental change”. Resonating what Vergo (1989) argued earlier regarding the urgency for museums to re-examine their role within society radically, Janes and Sandell (2019:17) urged museums to ask themselves questions, such as: “why does your museum exist, what changes are you trying to effect, what solutions will you generate, and what are your non-negotiable values?”.

As Janes (2009:55) argued, this world faces many environmental and social problems, an endless list of issues that he referred to as ‘a troubled world’, and museums are responsible for acting upon that. The responsibility is principally based on the assumption that the museum has the cultural authority – the “signifying power of culture” (Sandell, 2002:3) – to communicate narratives about humanity and to “provide cultural frameworks to identify and challenge the myths and misperception that threaten all of us” (Janes and Sandell, 2019:7), which echoes what Dana (1917) stated previously concerning the way museums could serve the public.

Most existing debates concerning the activist museum’s practice revolve around social justice issues (Merriman, 2020:180). However, in recent years, a burgeoning interest has materialised in the museum world in becoming more involved in the discourse of climate change and environmental emergencies. Regarding the public-funded museum, the public supposedly expects the museum to spend public funds for the public’s good on issues such as the environment (McGhie, 2020:655). But even with the non-public funded museums, demonstrating engagement with the world’s biggest problems, which impact people both now and in the future (Janes and Grattan, 2019; Decker, 2020; Merriman, 2020), is a strategic way to attract more public attention. Practically, every museum can engage people as regards climate: art and historical museums may tell the stories about how people facing the effects of climate change, science and natural history museums may provide context and supporting data for the narratives, while children’s museums may engage the younger ones with such complex issues (Sutton, 2020). Nonetheless, it must also be acknowledged that museums are still not considered as one of the key leaders concerning this issue (Decker, 2020) and are scarcely recognised in recent climate change books (Sutter, 2020).

While most existing studies about climate change and environmental crisis representation in museums come from the Global North, very little comes from the Global South perspective. Therefore, this paper focuses on the specific environmental-thematic museums in Indonesia, one of the biggest developing countries in the Global South.

Immersive Experiences in the Environmental-Thematic Museums

In Indonesia, the largest archipelagic country whose environment is significant to the wider world (Jotzo, 2012:93), several museums are specifically established to address environmental topics. This paper discusses four of these environmental-thematic museums –namely Museum Kehutanan dan Lingkungan Hidup (the Museum of Forestry and Environment), next referred to as MLHK; Museum Air (the Museum of Water), next referred to as MA; Museum Listrik dan Energi Baru (the Museum of Electricity and Renewable Energy), next referred to as MLEB; and the Ozone Heroes Exhibit at the Indonesia Science Center, next referred to as OHISC. It examines how these museums communicate the topic of environmental protection through immersive experiences and how they position these practices in relation to broader environmental activism. It presents primary data collected through semi-structured interviews with museum professionals from these institutions, which has been analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

As their name suggests, each museum highlights different environmental emergency issues. MLHK focuses on forestry and biodiversity issues, MA focuses on rainforests and water crisis, MLEB focuses on renewable energy, and OHISC focuses on ozone layer depletion. Interestingly, in different ways, all the environmental-thematic museums above mention how they want visitors to have some ‘immersive experience’ when visiting the environmental-thematic exhibition.

The immersive museum experience is currently becoming popular in Indonesia. However, as observed by Gröppel-Wegener and Kidd (2019) defining ‘immersive experience’ is something far from straightforward: “No clear definition exists; yet, we all seem to have an idea of what we are talking about when we use that word ‘immersive’” (Ibid.:3). Moreover, finding an equivalent word for ‘immersive’ in Indonesian is tricky. Thus, some of the museums used the English word ‘immersive’ but in an unsure tone, such as a staff member of OHISC:

Well, the main thing is how to make the display, the simulation, become interactive, and visitors can, umm what is it, immersive? (P-04)

When asked to describe this ‘immersive’ experience, P-04 referred to the giant dome where people can enter inside as the highlight of OHISC. The interior of the dome was painted with the environmental landscape to create the illusion of 360° views. In addition to the regular lighting, the dome is also equipped with UV lighting, and visitors can press a button to switch between the two types of lighting. When the regular lighting is on, and the UV lighting is off, the paintings look normal: healthy humans, animals, plants, and a good environment overall. But when the regular lighting is off, and the UV lighting is on, which illustrates the UV that enters the earth because of damage to ozone layers, the paintings change cancerous skin on humans, sick animals and plants, fire on buildings, and so on.

In a separate interview session, the designer of the OHISC elaborated further on how they chose the design of the giant dome as a specific space to convey an immersive experience:

So it’s more like an experience inside where you can experience the two modes, from the normal one to the damaged condition due to the ozone layer. And the most possible way to do that is by using the UV lamp. Actually, at first we wanted to make it look as if the dome was open then there was hot air coming in. But that seemed too difficult. And too much. Well, so this is the most visible way to experience it. (P-15)

As shown by the excerpt, the designer explained that they wanted to make people ‘experience’ something vividly when designing the giant dome. They even had an idea about creating a hot air flow inside the dome to make people experience the effects of global warming and trigger multi-sensory experiences, though, in the end, the idea was not implemented due to technical difficulties.

Whereas, the other museums did not use the word ‘immersive’ but used other words to describe the immersive experiences. A staff member from MLHK, for example, used the Indonesian word ‘menghayati’:

The theatre space is used so people can ‘menghayati – (Indonesian language)’ the film. (P-01)

Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia², an official Indonesian-Indonesian dictionary developed by the Indonesian government agency defines the word ‘menghayati’ as ‘mengalami dan merasakan sesuatu (dalam batin)’, or in English words ‘experiencing and feeling something (in the soul)’. Meanwhile, the Indonesian-English Cambridge Dictionary³ translates the word ‘menghayati’ as ‘to live (a certain kind of life)’. As an Indonesian native speaker, I would add the word ‘intensely’ to emphasise how people ‘experience, feel and live something’, as that is how Indonesian people – according to my experience and subjectivity – usually use the word ‘menghayati’.

By using the word ‘menghayati’, the museum staff member implied that MLHK wants to communicate the stories of the environmental crisis through a site-specific space – the movie theatre space in MLHK – which can make people intensely experience, feel, and live the story in the film. Unlike playing the movie on a TV or computer screen in the gallery where people can watch and go and can be easily distracted at any point, playing the film in a particularly dark room such as the movie theatre space makes visitors stay watching the film from the beginning until the end, thus allowing for a greater chance of immersion.

Another example is how the museum staff members from MA described the immersive experience, which is some life-size dioramas and 360° projections to depict the environmental situation, as something that vividly resembles the real thing:

There is a room that depicts the water crisis, with the floor made to look like cracked soil, and we also have visuals like that. We have a projector that displays it. (P-13)

The rainforest gallery has a really good diorama where it can actually rain. (P-13)

It really looks like an actual forest. (P-14)

Using those words, the museum staff member emphasised that the museum wants to communicate the environmental crisis stories through an embodied experience. Like the giant dome in OHISC, the life-size dioramas and 360° projections in MA were specifically designed to convey the immersive experience. In this particular space, people can enter and be surrounded by audio, visual, and other sensory experiences, such as the sound of splashing water, which make an intense impression of experiencing an actual situation. As Gröppel-Wegener and Kidd (2019:5) noted, immersive experiences “privilege multi-sensorial encounters” because “such sensory stimulation brings participants into an immediate and felt entanglement with the practice, whether positively or negatively experienced” (Ibid).

Quite different from other museums, which use a specific physical space to convey immersive experiences, MLEB utilises the digital technology of augmented reality (AR) to add another layer to the real objects:

So, you can scan the AR code on an object; then, a narrative and an audiovisual will appear. (P-06)

Nevertheless, the augmented reality experience is still bound to a physical space, as the AR narrative and audiovisual can only appear if visitors point their device to a specific object.

Museum as an Educator and the Immersive Experience as a Learning Facilitator

The critical question, then, is why those museums use immersive experiences to communicate the story of the environmental crisis. The answer to this question is arguably can be traced back to the main thinking that a museum is an educational institution, but not a boring one. All the professionals from across the museums heavily describe their role and agency as environmental educators, with ‘educate’, ‘education’, and ‘educational’ as the most common keywords the museums use to describe their primary mission.

Our goal in MLHK is to educate people since early childhood. (P-01)

This is indeed our responsibility in the educational aspect. We are directly under PLN, under PLN Corporate University which has a main responsibility to educate. So, we are educators. Our museum guides are called educators. (P-07)

So, it is not just for swimming in the Waterboom Jogja; there is also an educational aspect. (P-13)

Education is indeed a vital part of the museum practice. The latest museum definition by ICOM stated that education is one of the main experiences offered by museums. Similarly, the Indonesian government’s law on museums (PP No. 66 Year 2015) also emphasises that education is one of the main tasks of museums.

Interestingly, the museums also emphasised that they do not want to resemble the boring and monotonous voice delivered by schools as the formal educational institution, with too many texts and too much passive mode of teaching:

If everything is written on the information board, it will be monotonous. It will be so difficult to read. (P-01)

The visitors to the museum are mostly school children who are still studying, from elementary school to high school. It will be monotonous if there are too many technical writings. (P-15)

We want visitors who come to the museum not to be 100% studying. If, for example, we give 100% to learning, it will be monotonous. Like at school, where you just learn all the time. (P-08)

Therefore, the museums think they need to incorporate something more enjoyable, interesting, and not boring: things besides the monotonous text displays. This could be audio, visual, games, real things (or something resembling them), or a combination of multiple media:

Not only are there displays, but there are also visuals, so the museum is not boring. (P-13)

Well, children usually love what looks like a real thing, such as in the museum there is a submarine. Well, maybe it was made like that to make it more interesting. (P-14)

What we want is, we really want to show, so people can feel the experience. How it looks like if the ozone is impacted by the UV. It can become really scary. The depictions are scary, but children are attracted to them. So that children are interested in the pictures, the visuals, the interactives. (P-15)

We hope the game will allow children to enjoy learning about ozone. (P-04)

Well, for the one… the teak tree talking, that was the audio. The mission at that time was because usually children like to gather in the middle; it’s like they are told a tell; they listen to this teak tree telling stories about itself and what’s around it. So it’s very interesting; they feel like they’re being told by a collection that can talk. (P-01)

At the very basic, the museums’ effort to consider more about what will make their exhibits enjoyable, interesting, and not boring for visitors can be seen as a consequence of the shifting paradigm from the object-centred ‘old’ museum practice to the audience-centred ‘new’ museum practice, a movement that has grown massively since the 1970s. However, to some extent, this also implies that the museums actually want to apply a more active and visitor-centred learning mode, and this is the thinking process behind incorporating experience-based learning, particularly immersive experience, in the museums. Begun by the ‘hands-on’ spirit in science museums but recently also developed by history museums to build a reconstruction and simulation of the past, Henning (2006:71) observed this as a part of museums’ attempts to establish a balance between the ‘object lessons’ and the ‘learning through experience’ notion. By experiencing something, the museums wish that visitors bring longer-lasting memories of what they learnt in the museum, as stated by a museum staff member:

The main thing is how to make a science attraction interactive so the visitors can be immersed. Visitors can be a part of the science props. So they get the impression that, hopefully, it will not fade. It will not be forgotten. (P-04)

In practice, immersive experiences help museums deliver learning about abstract subjects by allowing people to experience something that happens in other places far away from them, something that people might have never seen or known before. For example, although people might have experienced many of the environmental crisis phenomena, such as the hotter temperatures from air pollution in Jakarta, as told by P-02, the bigger picture and the cause of the environmental crisis issues is often something that cannot be seen directly, such as the ozone layer depletion. Here, immersive experiences play a part in bridging the broad distance between the global environmental crisis and people’s everyday lives by visualising abstract things to make it easier for visitors to learn about them:

So, some contents in Ozone Heroes itself actually are contents that, how to say it, quotes, a bit abstract. So perhaps it needs some approach, how to deliver the information with that limitation. (P-04)

Because climate change, ozone, the ozone layer, and the ozone hole are all 25 thousand meters in the sky that we can’t see, can’t touch, can’t feel. So how can you feel that? Using the dome we want to try to project, oh, this is the shape of the earth inside, here are pictures of living creatures, there are humans, there are trees, there are forests. (P-15)

Environmental Education Vis-À-Vis Activism

Within the education framework, all of those museums expressed their intention to influence visitors in various ways. They want to influence the cognitive aspect by ‘giving’ and ‘providing’ information, particularly by ‘telling’ people the consequence of human actions on the environment:

Our goal is to educate from an early age, that, if you do this, the results will be like this. (P-01)

Perhaps we are mostly inviting, like telling, if, for example, we don’t protect the environment, the effect will be like this. (P-05)

Some museums want to elicit certain emotions in visitors. One of the emotions is surprise, such as noted by the staff from MA:

Maybe there are the urban people, well, they can be surprised because water crisis can be that scary, with the cracked soil. (P-13)

Another example of eliciting certain emotions is when the MLHK staff members talked about making visitors ‘emotionally drained’:

Because, yeah, it’s quite emotionally draining for the children to watch the film. Especially the last film, right P02? (P-01)

Yeah, the high-school students, in our last film about animal conservation, they cried after watching the film. Because they just found out how cruel it is at the bird market. Yes, I said. Indeed yes. And the film was not made randomly; there is research on that. (P-02)

While they did not specify what they mean by ‘emotionally draining’, P-02 emphasised that the ‘emotional drain’ was evidenced by ‘cried’ because ‘they just found out how cruel it is’. This implies that the emotions that the museum attempts to elicit are grief and anger. The emotion of grief and anger was intentionally provoked to achieve a particular objective as further elaborated by the P-02:

Like, what we call it, brainwashing, something like that. Brainwashing from the film. We make their mindset open first; oh, apparently, that’s how it is. From there, we give them an explanation, like, come on, do you want to join us and be a part of us to protect the environment? (P-02)

Meanwhile, other museums specifically tell visitors what they want people to do, and what attitude and behavioural change they wish visitors to have, such as switching to renewable energy (MLEB), choosing types of equipment that are free from CFCs and HCFCs (OHISC), and using water more efficiently (MA).

As environmental educators who aim for cognitive, emotional, attitude and behavioural effects on visitors through education, the museums indirectly are a part of environmental activist practice. Nevertheless, this idea of a museum in environmental activism is not without challenges. Although participants from all museums expressed that they want to achieve a wider change in society, which resonates with the idea of museum activism, the idea of ‘museum as an activist’ or activist museum practice is something new and unfamiliar in the context of Indonesian museums, which is evidenced by similar confused responses by the professionals across the museums to respond to my last question during the interview session which was “do you consider what the museums do as a practice of environmental activism?”

After the initial confusion, some museum staff members expressed doubt and mentioned that the label ‘activist’ is perhaps ‘too heavy’ for museums to carry because there is an assumption that activists are those who do the ‘real action’, which is often not the case for museums. There is also debate about whether the real activists should be unpaid or voluntary. Some participants stated that they are not activists because they do things for work and they get paid for it. Moreover, the museums’ content is also influenced by the perspective of the funder/owner, and there may be some potential conflicts of interest which may inhibit the museums from being the ‘real’ activists.

Conclusion

The results indicate that Indonesian museums heavily position themselves as environmental educators, using immersive experiences as learning facilitators. They hesitated to call their work ‘activist’; however, this is for reasons that will be elaborated on in the paper. The finding is significant as it illustrates the intertwined relationship between education and activism when museums communicate the topic of environmental protection through immersive experiences.

References

Anderson, S. (2020) ‘Unsettling national narratives and multiplying voices: the art museum as renewed space for social advocacy and decolonization – a Canadian case study’, Museum Management and Curatorship, 35(5), pp. 488–531. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2020.1803111.

Bekenova, K. (2023) ‘African museums and their participation in the debates on the ICOM new museum definition’, Museum History Journal, pp. 1–21. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/19369816.2023.2188061.

Brown, K. and Mairesse, F. (2018) ‘The definition of the museum through its social role’, Curator: The Museum Journal, 61(4), pp. 525–539. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/cura.12276.

Chipangura, N. and Marufu, H. (2019) ‘Museums as Public Forums for 21st Century Societies: A perspective from the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe’, in R.R. Janes and R. Sandell (eds) Museum activism. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge (Museum meanings).

Dana, J.C. (1917) The Gloom of the Museum. Available at: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6606533M/The_gloom_of_the_museum (Accessed: 1 February 2023).

Decker, J. (2020) ‘Climate of change’, Museum Management and Curatorship, 35(6), pp. 636–652. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2020.1836999.

Gröppel-Wegener, A. and Kidd, J. (2019) Critical encounters with immersive storytelling. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Henning, M. (2006) Museums, media and cultural theory. Maidenhead, England ; New York: Open University Press (Issues in cultural and media studies).

Janes, R.R. (2009) Museums in a troubled world: renewal, irrelevance or collapse? London ; New York: Routledge (Museum meanings).

Janes, R.R. and Grattan, N. (2019) ‘Museums Confront the Climate Challenge’, Curator: The Museum Journal, 62(2), pp. 97–103. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/cura.12298.

Janes, R.R. and Sandell, R. (eds) (2019) Museum activism. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge (Museum meanings).

Jotzo, F. (2012) ‘Can Indonesia Lead on Climate Change?’, in A. Reid and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (eds) Indonesia rising: the repositioning of Asia’s third giant. Indonesia Update Conference, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Indonesia update series).

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Sandell, R. (2002) Museums, society, inequality. London: Routledge.

Sutter, G. (2020) ‘Where do museums fit? A review of The Future We Choose: Surviving The Climate Crisis: The future we choose: surviving the climate crisis, by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, New York, Alfred. A. Knopf, 2020, 240 pp., $23 USD (hardcover), ISBN 9780525658351’, Museum Management and Curatorship, 35(6), pp. 705–708. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2020.1837002.

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1 Data presented in this paper is a part of the author’s ongoing PhD research project. The research project is funded by the Center for Higher Education Funding (BPPT) Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Republic of Indonesia and the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP).

Advancing Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Practices in Indian Museums: Addressing Research Gaps through a Case Study of the Red Fort Museum, Delhi

Ar. Riyazul Samad Binmohammad , Master of Urban Design, SPA New Delhi. Assistant Professor, Faculty of Architecture and Ekistics, Jamia University, New Delhi, India.

Ar. Zia Ul Haque, Urban Regional planner, Moradabad Smart City limited, India Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Govt. of India

Ar. Wahaj Akthar Abedeen^, Planning Assistant, DDA, Government of India, Delhi, India

Binmohammad-AVICOM Paper_Riyazul_Wahaj_Zia-1

e-Archeo: a sustainable and multichannel project for the multimedia and virtual
valorization of 8 Italian archaeological sites, combining scientific approach, emotional dimension
and new technologies

Eva Pietroni, CNR ISPC, Italy

paper Pietroni_AVICOM Annual Conference Turin

Session II: Digital engagement: Desiderata, opportunities, examples

Friction as a design principle

Redefining digital engagement in museums

Stéphane Bezombes, France

Summary

In their manifesto “Designing Friction” (2023), Luna Maurer and Roel Wouters argue for reintegrating friction into digital interface design. They argue that, while fluidity may seem beneficial, friction is essential to ignite engagement, connection and human growth. Applied to museums, this concept proposes allowing and embracing elements of discomfort, delay and physical engagement into the digital strategy to enrich the visitor experience.

Challenges include the tension between traditional conservation and interaction requirements, as well as the difficulty of reproducing sensory richness of physical objects in the digital world. Through various examples, the paper shows how friction offers opportunities for deeper engagement, new forms of storytelling and inclusion. Museums can create memorable experiences by activating sensory engagement, encouraging unpredictability discovery, and eliciting non-positive emotions.

The homogenization of digital interfaces threatens to make museum visits flavorless. By adopting pre-existing platforms and technologies, museums risk losing their autonomy and failing to reach a sufficiently diverse audience. Museums need to collaborate with digital counterculture designers to create stimulating interfaces that encourage focus time, exchange and discovery, while remaining vigilant against a digital culture that is only focused on efficiency.

___

In the manifesto “Designing Friction” ¹, Luna Maurer and Roel Wouters assert that digital technologies, in their pursuit of seamlessness, have eliminated much of the friction from human life. Although this may initially seem positive, the authors argue that friction is crucial to daily life as it promotes engagement, connection, and intellectual growth. They propose “designing friction” as a design principle, encouraging designers to create digital technologies that incorporate discomfort, delay, and physical engagement, and embrace the complexity and unpredictability of the human experience. By doing so, they advocate for the creation of digital interfaces that offer a richer, more meaningful, and ultimately more human experience. Rather than aiming for a total absence of friction, the goal is to harness resistance as a positive element that fosters engagement, reflection, and wonder.

This approach may seem counterintuitive. The mainstream digital mythology promises a dematerialized world, a global village, within a digital environment that obeys at the touch of a button (Multipoint touchscreen patent²) and the blink of an eye (Apple Vision Pro³), with universal applications and proven design patterns offering a zero-learning curve, guaranteed by the overwhelming success of generative AI to further facilitate questioning and anticipating answers. However, for those who appreciate museums and spaces dedicated to human creativity, this reflection appears entirely valid. The second and third digital revolutions strive to smooth out every rough edge in interfaces, contributing to the creation of a “goldfish civilization” ⁴.

The goldfish swims in its bowl, seemingly rediscovering the world with each turn. Google engineers have calculated its maximum attention span: 8 seconds. Bruno Patino tells us that we have become goldfish, trapped in the bowl of our screens, subject to the carousel of our alerts and instant messages, and we can no longer tolerate resistance. Museum tour guide apps are becoming standardized (Bloomberg Connects⁵, which unites 500 museums), and museum websites are increasingly similar (See the Louvre website and the Met Museum website, 2024). Booking and canceling tickets has never been simpler or more insipid. The creation of mediation apps can now be done without designers, thanks to the increasing use of low-code tools and generative CMS. Is it still possible to design digital services that do not primarily aim to “streamline the user experience”? And for what purpose?

Integrating the Concept of “Friction” in Museum Experience Design

Challenges

• Institutional: Museums are traditionally places that uphold tradition and the static preservation of objects. Introducing friction, which often involves questioning the museum’s memory (MEG temporary exhibition : “Genève dans le monde colonial”⁶) and challenging established rules, may conflict with a hierarchy established over many years.

• Conservation: Friction might involve touching, using, or even modifying objects, which goes against traditional conservation practices focused on physical preservation. Finding a balance between visitor engagement and object protection is crucial.

• Materialization: Museums are increasingly exploring online exhibitions and virtual reality, but these digital experiences often lack the inherent friction of physical interactions. Replicating the sensory richness and resistance of real objects in a digital space is a significant challenge.

Opportunities

• Increased Visitor Engagement: Friction can lead to a more immersive and memorable museum experience. By creating uncomfortable situations, encouraging physical engagement, and evoking non-positive emotions, museums can foster a deeper connection with the displayed objects.

• New Forms of Narration: Friction can encourage visitors to question dominant narratives and explore new perspectives. By presenting incomplete objects, emphasizing process over finished products, and encouraging use rather than mere contemplation, museums can create more stimulating and transformative experiences.

• Accessibility and Inclusion: Friction can make museums more open and relevant to a broader audience. By encouraging collaboration and incorporating self-critique and fallibility, museums can reach new audiences and foster a more inclusive dialogue.

Integrating friction into museums is not about creating obstacles or negative experiences. Instead, it involves rethinking how visitors interact with objects and museum spaces to create more stimulating experiences. Instead of pursuing the fluidity and convenience characteristic of many digital experiences, museums can introduce elements of resistance, surprise, and discomfort to provoke engagement and reflection, leading to “Eureka” moments⁷.

What Are the Strategies to Challenge Digital Fluidity During Visits?

• Contesting the Expectation of Fluidity: Museums can challenge the expectation of fluidity and instant gratification often associated with digital experiences. By introducing intentional delays, access limitations, or unconventional interfaces, they can encourage more thoughtful and deliberate interactions with digital content. For example, the screenless CamSnap camera⁸ encourages memory capturing, staying present, and fostering social interaction and emotional development.

• Creating Spaces, Not Surfaces: Museums should not merely reproduce physical spaces in the digital realm but create unique digital environments that leverage the possibilities of virtual space and foster co-presence among page visitors. Platforms like “common.garden” and “distant.gallery”⁹ demonstrate how online space design can promote social relationships and unexpected interactions.

• Building Appointments with Humans: Reconnecting with online mediators through private sessions allows for richer exchanges and personalized presentations, offering a unique experience whose outcome is uncertain and depends on the audience, akin to a theater performance. Platforms like ReGuide¹⁰, which offer remote guided tours with live mediators, seek to recreate this interactive dimension in a virtual environment. Booking a private session allows for a personalized exchange, offering a unique experience to each visitor.

How to Use Digital Friction to Enhance Visit Memorability?

• Activating Sensory Engagement: Although digital experiences often lack the materiality of physical objects, they can engage the senses in other ways. Using sound, animation, and interactive elements can create an immersive experience that captures the visitor’s attention and evokes emotional responses. For instance, after developing a visual identity linked to the oceans and a custom marine olfactory signature, the Musée National de la Marine continues its multisensory deployment by creating its own sound signature, “Osmose”¹¹ .

• Encouraging Autonomy and Discovery: Museums can design digital experiences that allow visitors to get lost, explore, and shape their own learning journey. By incorporating elements of surprise and unpredictability, they can stimulate curiosity and encourage deeper exploration. For example, the nonlinear navigation of “Spatial Affairs: Wordling”¹², based on a game engine, allows visitors to move freely in the digital space and discover artworks in an unpredictable manner.

• Eliciting “Non-Positive” Emotions: Museums should not shy away from exploring difficult themes, evoking uncomfortable emotions, or challenging dominant viewpoints. Embracing complexity, doubt, and ambiguity can create more stimulating and transformative experiences that resonate deeply with visitors. The experimental visual installation “Carne y arena” ¹³ is a 7-minute experience where individuals are invited to move freely within a vast space, following refugees at the US-Mexico border and intensely experiencing part of their journey.

By strategically integrating friction into digital cultural mediation, museums can create memorable experiences that transcend the boundaries of physical and digital museums.

What Are the Risks of Global Design for Attention Economy in Cultural Institutions Like Museums?

The constant pursuit of fluidity and convenience in digital experiences can lead to homogenization of mediation experiences. Museum institutions, eager to meet public expectations and compete with mainstream digital platforms, may be tempted to replicate the same attention-grabbing mechanisms. This risks generating disinterest in digital experiences deemed bland, too similar, and unstimulating.

By relying on pre-existing digital solutions (such as Instagram, Tinder, TikTok, which currently serve as showcases for artists), museums risk reinforcing the dominance of these platforms and becoming dependent on their algorithms. This dependency limits the autonomy of cultural institutions in designing unique, diverse, and innovative digital experiences.

Recommendation technologies and algorithms underlying many digital platforms can reproduce biases and exclude certain audiences. Museums, by relying solely on these technologies, risk exacerbating the digital divide and failing to reach a diverse audience.

The drive for efficiency and attention capture can lead to a loss of meaning and superficial interactions with artworks and museum content. Visitors, accustomed to instant gratification and information overload, struggle to engage deeply and reflectively.

What Are the Prospects for Museums?

The greatest asset museums have in designing new cultural experiences with digital tools is their ability to provide a cultural framework that stimulates reflection and encourages deep engagement, avoiding both the Museum fatigue¹⁴ and Digital fatigue¹⁵.

The digital space should be seen as a distinct territory with its own specificities and possibilities. Collaboration with artists and sociologists is essential to rethink modes of interaction and learning in a digital context. Innovative platforms and interactive tools demonstrate that it is possible to create stimulating spaces that foster exchange and discovery while resisting the dominance of digital giants.

It is crucial to remain vigilant against the dangers of a digital culture overly focused on efficiency and replicating dominant models. Accessibility, audience diversity, and sustainability must be at the heart of museums’ digital mediation efforts.

The time for action has arrived, not to reject digital civilization, but to transform its economic nature and turn it into a project that abandons the transhumanist nightmare to rediscover the human ideal of the museum.

Khushi Kesari

Program Officer, History Lab:

Community, Heritage, & Material Culture

Advanced Study Institute of Asia at SGT University

Shivani Singh

Program Coordinator for

Law & Critical Emerging Technologies

Advanced Study Institute of Asia at SGT University

Digitising Culture: Legal and Ethical Dimensions in Indian and International Museums

Khushi Kesari, Program Officer, History Lab: Community, Heritage, & Material Culture, Advanced Study Institute of Asia at SGT University

Shivani Singh, Program Coordinator for Law & Critical Emerging Technologies, Advanced Study Institute of Asia at SGT University

Abstract

India’s museums vividly represent its rich heritage, preserving extensive artefacts and material remains that reflect a complex history of trade and cultural exchange. With rapid climate changes and global challenges, preserving these invaluable items is crucial. Digitisation and virtual exhibitions have emerged as vital tools, offering both preservation and expanded global access, while platforms like Google Arts and Culture enhance global awareness and education through digitised collections.

Yet the shift to digital formats presents challenges, particularly regarding ownership, intellectual property, and legal issues. This study examines the integration of digital and digitised artworks in Indian museums, specifically the National Museum in Delhi and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) in Mumbai, comparing these practices with international institutions like the British Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre, etc. It explores the legal aspects of art digitisation, focusing on intellectual property rights, copyright, and ownership of digital reproductions, as well as the ethical and legal implications of virtual museums, including data privacy and access equity. The study reveals how Indian museums are adapting to digital transitions compared to their international peers, highlighting the need for international collaboration and underscoring the potential of digital platforms to democratise access to cultural heritage, offering a roadmap for enhancing the digital presence and outreach of Indian museums.

Introduction

Indian culture, known for its vast diversity and deep historical rootsⁱ, embodies a rich tapestry of traditions, art, and heritage that spans thousands of years. This cultural richness is showcased in numerous museums across the country, ranging from national institutions like the National Museum in New Delhi to regional gems such as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya in Mumbai and the Indian Museum in Kolkata. These museums act as custodians of India’s cultural legacy, preserving artifacts, manuscripts, artworks, and other forms of tangible and intangible heritage. They play a crucial role in telling the story of India’s past and keeping alive the traditions that define its identity.

Museums are vital in preserving cultural heritage, as they safeguard artifacts that represent the artistic, social, and technological achievements of various civilisationsⁱⁱ. By maintaining these collections, museums protect cultural heritage from the damaging effects of time, conflict, neglect, and environmental threats. In a rapidly changing society like India, where urbanisation and environmental pressures are constant challenges, museums serve as anchors to the past, helping to maintain a connection to cultural roots that might otherwise be lostⁱⁱⁱ. Their role extends beyond preservation, offering a space for interpretation, education, and the celebration of diverse cultural narratives.

In recent years, the digitisation of artifacts and artworks has become increasingly important for museums, including those in India. Digitisation helps preserve the physical integrity of cultural objects by minimizing the need for direct handling and display, and it also extends access to these treasures beyond the museum’s walls. Through digital archives and virtual exhibitions, people worldwide can engage with Indian culture, enhancing the global appreciation of India’s heritage. Initiatives like the Government of India’s “Digital India” project have been instrumental in supporting museums to digitise their collections, making them accessible to a wider audience^iv. Technologies such as 3D scanning, augmented reality, and virtual reality are creating immersive experiences that allow audiences to explore ancient artifacts in ways that were previously unimaginable.

However, the digitisation of cultural heritage also brings challenges, particularly around Intellectual Property (IP) rights. As museums create digital replicas of artifacts, they must navigate complex issues related to copyright, reproduction rights, and ownership of digital content. Proper IP management is crucial to protect the rights of museums and to ensure that cultural expressions are not misappropriated or exploited without acknowledgment. Indian museums can enhance their strategies by drawing inspiration from successful practices of institutions like the British Museum and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which have effectively balanced accessibility with IP protection. By integrating such approaches, Indian museums can further strengthen their digital collection management, ensuring the protection of cultural assets while expanding access for educational and research purposes.

Digital and Digitisation Practices in India and Indian Museums

The transition to computerised documentation in Indian museums during the mid-1990s was a pivotal moment in the preservation and accessibility of cultural heritage. This era marked the beginning of a shift towards more consistent and accessible management of cultural artifacts, despite facing numerous challenges such as technological limitations, high costs, and a shortage of skilled personnel. While the initial phase of digitisation achieved only partial success, it highlighted the growing need for a systematic approach to cultural preservation and set the stage for more advanced initiatives in the following decades.

Building on these early efforts, museums have increasingly turned to the internet to share their collections with a broader audience. Since the early 1990s, the online presence of museums has expanded significantly, overcoming challenges such as limited resources, legal restrictions, and high operational costs. Today, many institutions offer extensive digital archives, providing global access to their collections. This shift towards digital accessibility has not only enhanced the preservation of cultural heritage but also opened new avenues for public education and revenue generation. As museums continue to evolve in the digital age, they are better equipped to serve both physical and virtual visitors, ensuring that cultural heritage remains accessible to all.

In response to these early challenges, the Ministry of Culture (MoC) of India took decisive steps in 2009 by launching a comprehensive reform agenda aimed at standardizing museum documentation across the country. This initiative led to the creation of the Museums of India portal, developed in collaboration with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). The portal serves as a national repository for cultural heritage, offering standardised documentation and broad access to many antiquities. This development underscores the government’s commitment to making India’s rich cultural heritage accessible to a wider audience, both domestically and internationally.

One of the pioneering institutions in the realm of museum digitisation in India is the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). Since its inception in 1987, IGNCA has focused on the development of computerised systems for the storage, retrieval, and dissemination of information related to India’s diverse arts and cultural heritage. The establishment of the National Cultural Audiovisual Archives (NCAA) at IGNCA is a testament to the institution’s commitment to digital preservation. The NCAA has achieved global recognition by becoming the world’s first Trusted Digital Repository as per ISO 16363:2012 standards, highlighting its role in setting new benchmarks in digital archiving^v.

The digitisation initiatives spearheaded by IGNCA, including digital archiving, preservation, and the creation of user-friendly digital platforms, exemplify the broader objectives of preserving cultural heritage, enhancing accessibility, and facilitating global engagement. Through these efforts, IGNCA not only safeguards valuable art collections but also enables scholars and the public to access and engage with India’s cultural legacy in innovative ways. The shift from manual to digital systems represents more than just a technological advancement; it signifies a redefinition of how cultural heritage is managed and shared in the digital age, ensuring that future generations can appreciate and learn from the rich tapestry of India’s cultural history^vi.

The digitisation of museums has revolutionised how cultural institutions interact with their audiences, enabling them to extend their reach beyond physical walls. In the past, museums were primarily concerned with drawing visitors to their physical locations, offering direct engagement with historical artifacts. However, the advent of digital platforms has changed this dynamic. With smartphones, apps, websites, and social media, museums can now present archaeological and cultural content to a global audience. Technologies such as Quick Response (QR) codes, Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR) have emerged as innovative tools that surpass traditional methods, making the experience of museum content more engaging and accessible. These technologies not only enhance the visitor experience but also reduce operational costs and broaden the reach of museums to a wider audience.

The rapid adoption of digital technology in museums has been further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated a reevaluation of how museums interact with visitors. Several key technological trends have emerged as a result, including immersive AR experiences, self-guided audio tours, VR culture, and the widespread use of QR codes. AR technology, for instance, provides visitors with near-realistic interactions with exhibits, transforming how they engage with museum content. Self-guided audio tours have become more common, allowing visitors to use their devices for a personalised and hygienic experience. VR offers new possibilities for remote engagement, enabling visitors to explore museum collections from the comfort of their homes. Additionally, QR codes have become a crucial tool for delivering information efficiently, especially in a post-pandemic world. These technological innovations are reshaping the museum experience, making it more interactive and accessible.

The Ministry of Culture in India has embarked on a transformative project aimed at modernizing the management and accessibility of the nation’s museum collections through digitisation. Central to this initiative is the implementation of “Jatan,” a standardised software developed in collaboration with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) Pune and the Art Institute of Chicago. The Jatan software is designed to create a Digital Accession Register for antiquities, ensuring that museum collections are systematically documented and regularly updated^vii. Initially deployed in ten prominent museums across India, including the National Museum in New Delhi and the Indian Museum in Kolkata, Jatan facilitates a uniform approach to collection management. This digitisation effort not only streamlines the internal organisation of museum artifacts but also significantly enhances public access to these collections by making them available online.

The digital repository established under this initiative is a landmark development, as it represents the first comprehensive online display of India’s diverse museum collections, including those typically held in reserve. The unified web portal, www.museumsofindia.gov.in, serves as a central platform where the public can explore detailed information and images of artifacts from various museums under the Ministry of Culture. This initiative aims to bridge the gap between the public and the extensive cultural heritage housed in museums, which traditionally exhibit only a fraction of their collections. Looking ahead, the Ministry plans to extend the Jatan software to additional ASI site museums and to support state-run and private museums through financial grants for digitisation. These efforts underscore the Ministry’s commitment to enhancing cultural awareness and accessibility for scholars, students, and the general public.^viii

The National Museum in New Delhi, established in 1949, stands as a premier institution dedicated to preserving and showcasing India’s rich cultural heritage. Originating from a successful exhibition of Indian art held at Rashtrapati Bhawan in 1949, the museum has evolved into a significant repository of historical artifacts. Its extensive collection, which spans over 5,000 years, includes approximately 200,000 objects representing diverse aspects of Indian and foreign cultures. Initially managed by the Director General of Archaeology, the museum is now overseen by the Ministry of Culture, reflecting its prominence and commitment to preserving India’s artistic and historical legacy.^ix

Brief History

The National Museum in New Delhi traces its origins to a proposal made by the Gwyer Committee in 1946, led by Sir Maurice Gwyer, former chief justice of India. The committee’s efforts, bolstered by Sir Mortimer Wheeler of the Archaeological Survey of India, aimed to create a premier institution for India’s cultural artifacts^x. This vision took a significant leap forward with the Exhibition of Indian Art organised by the Royal Academy of Arts in London during 1947-48. This exhibition, which elevated Indian artifacts to the status of high art, was a pivotal moment for the National Museum. Upon its return to India, the exhibits were first showcased in the state rooms of Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 15, 1949, and formally inaugurated by C. Rajagopalachari, Governor-General of India^xi. The temporary display marked the beginning of what would become the National Museum, with its collection primarily sourced from the successful London exhibition and subsequent donations.

The National Museum officially moved to its current location on Janpath in 1960, though some notable artifacts like the statue of Buddha and the Rampurva Bull were retained at Rashtrapati Bhavan at Jawaharlal Nehru’s request. The museum’s development was influenced by the Indian Museum in Kolkata, with some of its initial curators being former employees. Grace Morley, the museum’s first director from 1960 to 1966, played a crucial role in shaping its modern identity. Known for her minimalist and modernist approach, Morley’s installation techniques included the use of white-cube spaces, visual storage systems, and minimalist display cases. Her efforts ensured the museum’s international recognition and established it as a space where artifacts were presented within a broad historical context, contributing to a more democratised and accessible cultural experience^xii.

Digital Practices

• Virtual Galleries

The Virtual Gallery of the National Museum, Delhi, represents a groundbreaking collaboration with Google Arts and Culture, enhancing global access to India’s rich cultural heritage. This initiative, part of the Google Art Project—a non-commercial effort by Google Cultural Institute—has made over 100 artifacts from the National Museum’s collection available online. These objects have been meticulously photographed and described, offering a comprehensive digital experience for users worldwide. The virtual gallery features a detailed exploration of nine different galleries within the museum, showcasing more than 750 items, including artifacts, paintings, and sculptures. Each object is accompanied by extensive descriptions, providing context and insights into its historical and cultural significance. The collaboration extends beyond just showcasing objects; it includes a detailed story section for over 70 selected items, enriching the viewer’s understanding of their historical and artistic value^xiii. This virtual platform not only increases the reach and visibility of the National Museum’s collection but also allows for continuous updates and additions, further expanding the digital representation of the museum’s assets.

At the National Museum in Delhi, the VEMA (Virtual Experiential Museum Ajanta) installation on the third floor provides an immersive journey into the Ajanta caves. This innovative exhibit features interactive panels that allow visitors to explore detailed 3D and animated versions of iconic Ajanta paintings, such as Bodhisattva Padmapani from cave No.1. Enhanced by storytelling elements and an augmented reality (AR) section, visitors can use tablets to experience a 360-degree view of the caves, making this installation a cutting-edge way to engage with a historic site^xiv.

The museum features an innovative Audio-Visual Showcase. One such is the Raaga Showcase, which brings the historical and cultural development of Raag Malkaus to life. This engaging display utilises digital projections of miniature paintings, integrating animations of characters from these artworks along with narration and ambient sounds. By combining visual elements with auditory storytelling, the Raaga Showcase provides a dynamic and immersive experience that vividly illustrates the evolution and significance of Raag Malkaus in Indian music.

• Online Exhibitions

SOC Online Exhibition on shared Buddhist Heritage (https://nmvirtual.in/Sco.php)

The first-ever Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) online international exhibition, “Shared Buddhist Heritage,” was launched during the 19th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government on November 30, via videoconference in New Delhi. Unveiled by India’s Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu, the exhibition was developed by the National Museum of New Delhi in collaboration with SCO member countries. Featuring advanced technologies such as 3D scanning and virtual spaces, the exhibition offers a unique opportunity to explore Buddhist treasures from across Asia, including India’s Gandhara, Mathura, Nalanda, Amaravati, and Sarnath schools.

Chitram Vastram Exhibition (https://www.shrihariproductions.com/virtual-tour/chitram-vastram-nm/)

The exhibition, “Chitram Vastram: A Journey of Textiles and Sartorial Styles through Jain Manuscript Paintings,” seeks to connect the fields of religion, art, and material culture. The depiction of textiles and clothing in Jain manuscript paintings offers valuable insights into India’s rich textile heritage and technological advancements. These artworks reflect the imagery that has adorned Indian art and textiles for more than 700 years.

• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum, is one of Mumbai’s premier cultural institutions. Located in the heart of the city, the museum was established in 1922 and is housed in an impressive Indo-Saracenic building. CSMVS boasts a diverse collection of over 50,000 artifacts, including sculptures, paintings, decorative arts, and textiles, spanning Indian history and beyond. The museum not only showcases India’s rich cultural heritage but also hosts various exhibitions, educational programs, and events, making it a vibrant center for learning and cultural exchange.

Brief History

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, is a premier cultural institution in Mumbai, founded in the early 1900s. The idea for the museum was conceived on August 14, 1905, when prominent citisens of Bombay resolved to create a memorial in honor of the Prince of Wales’ visit. The foundation stone was laid by the Prince of Wales on November 11, 1905, and the museum was designed by the Scottish architect George Wittet, who won an open competition to create the building. Completed in 1914, the museum is a stunning example of Indo-Saracenic architecture, blending elements from Hindu, Islamic, and Western styles. Initially used as a military hospital during World War I, the museum officially opened to the public on January 10, 1922^xv, and has since grown into a leading cultural institution with a collection of approximately 70,000 artifacts, including Indian and European art, textiles, and decorative arts.

Over the years, CSMVS has evolved, achieving numerous milestones that have solidified its status as a key heritage site. In 2001, the museum was renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, and in 2010, it received the UNESCO-Asia Pacific Award for Commendable Conservation. The museum’s commitment to preserving and promoting cultural heritage is evident through initiatives like the Museum on Wheels project, launched in 2015, and the opening of Mumbai’s first Children’s Museum in 2019. In recognition of its architectural and cultural significance, CSMVS was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2018, as part of the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco ensemble in Mumbai. Celebrating its centenary on January 10, 2022, the museum continues to be a vital center for art, history, and culture in India^xvi.

Digital Practices

Similar to the National Museum in Delhi, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya has also collaborated with the Google Arts and Culture platform for more than 5years to enhance the accessibility of its collections. Through this partnership, the museum offers 13 virtual gallery tours, showcases 310 objects, and presents 8 detailed stories, allowing global audiences to explore its rich cultural heritage online^xvii. While the scale of this digital presence may not be as extensive as that of the National Museum, it still represents a significant step in making the museum’s treasures more accessible to the public, reflecting the museum’s commitment to leveraging technology for cultural preservation and education.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya offers a notable collection of digital exhibitions that cover a diverse range of themes. These exhibitions include “Three Dimensions of Divinity,” “Journeying into the Mind’s Creativity,” “The Swans of Light,” “Pratik,” and “India and the World: A History in Nine Stories,” among others^xviii. Each exhibition is thoughtfully curated, not merely showcasing objects but also weaving narratives that engage the viewer and provide deeper insights into cultural and historical contexts. This narrative-driven approach enhances the viewing experience, allowing audiences to connect with the exhibitions on a more personal and intellectual level.

What sets these digital exhibitions apart is their accessibility in both English and Hindi, broadening their reach to a more diverse audience. By offering content in Hindi, the museum ensures that its exhibitions are accessible to a larger segment of the Indian population, making cultural education more inclusive. This bilingual approach allows the museum to engage with visitors from different linguistic backgrounds, ensuring that the rich heritage and stories presented resonate with a wide audience. The combination of innovative presentation and language inclusivity makes these digital exhibitions a valuable resource for anyone interested in exploring India’s cultural and artistic legacy.

• Interactive learning portal “NOW YOU KNOW”

The “NOW YOU KNOW” interactive learning platform of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) is a dynamic space designed to engage both children and adult learners in a playful yet informative exploration of history. This platform invites users to delve into the rich collections of the museum, offering a variety of engaging activities. Through this platform, learners can scroll through and discover fascinating details about museum artifacts, unravel the mysterious stories behind them, and even get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the intricate work that museums undertake. Additionally, it features a range of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) activities and educational videos that enhance the learning experience. By combining interactive elements with storytelling, “NOW YOU KNOW” makes history accessible and enjoyable, transforming the traditional learning process into an immersive and captivating journey^xix.

• Museum on wheels

The Citi-CSMVS Museum on Wheels is a cutting-edge outreach initiative that brings the museum experience directly to communities across Maharashtra and beyond. Equipped with state-of-the-art buses, the project features digital media such as touch screens, tablets, and audio-visual equipment, enhancing engagement with interactive and immersive learning experiences. By integrating modern technology with traditional exhibits, the Museum on Wheels offers a unique, inclusive, and accessible platform for cultural education, particularly targeting tech-savvy youth in remote areas^xx.

Intellectual Property Practices in the Digital Era of Museums

The role of intellectual property (IP) in the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage has never been more crucial, particularly within museums, libraries, and archives. As custodians of historical, artistic, and cultural artifacts, these institutions are increasingly reliant on IP laws, notably copyright, to protect their collections from unauthorised use and reproduction. Copyright laws not only safeguard cultural and artistic works but also ensure the integrity and authenticity of these items, which is essential for maintaining their historical and cultural significance. Beyond protection, IP laws foster innovation and creativity within the cultural sector. Copyright protection encourages the creation and sharing of new artistic and scholarly works, enriching museum collections and supporting a dynamic and creative ecosystem. By granting exclusive rights to creators and institutions, copyright laws incentivise the disclosure of new research findings and the development of advanced conservation techniques, thus promoting continuous innovation in the museum sector^xxi.

The recent focus on digitalisation has underscored the growing importance of IP in cultural institutions. Events such as the International Museum Expo (IME) 2023, inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlight an increasing governmental and societal emphasis on preserving and promoting cultural heritage through modern technological means. Such initiatives reflect a broader global trend toward modernizing cultural institutions while ensuring the protection of their historical significance. This modern approach often integrates sophisticated IP management practices with traditional cultural preservation methods. In this context, IP management in museums encompasses a range of legal issues, including copyright, trademarks, industrial designs, patents, and the management of confidential information. Copyright remains crucial in controlling the use, reproduction, and distribution of cultural materials such as artworks, publications, and digital media. Proper attribution and the prevention of unauthorised exploitation are essential for maintaining the authenticity and integrity of cultural heritage.

Trademarks and branding also play a significant role in enhancing a museum’s identity and reputation, while industrial design rights protect the unique designs of exhibits and merchandise. Patents can safeguard innovative conservation techniques, and the management of confidential information, including user data and internal practices, is vital for maintaining competitive advantage in a rapidly digitalizing world. Additionally, effective management of domain names and social media identities helps establish a museum’s online presence, enabling it to engage with global audiences more effectively. The digitalisation of museums has transformed how they interact with their audiences, manage their collections, and approach intellectual property. Digital platforms, such as Google Arts & Culture, have revolutionised how museums share their collections, offering high-resolution digital images and virtual exhibitions while respecting the IP rights of the institutions involved.

A notable trend in the cultural sector involves licensing cultural IP to global brands, which enables museums to leverage their assets to diversify revenue streams and increase visibility. Collaborations between museums and commercial brands demonstrate the potential of IP licensing to achieve broader audience engagement and financial sustainability. For instance, licensing agreements have allowed museums to reach broader audiences across different sectors and geographic regions. Partnerships like the Louvre’s collaboration with tech accessory company CASETiFY and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)’s collaborations with Uniqlo and Vans exemplify how museums can extend their reach beyond the cultural sector and engage millions of consumers. In 2019, global sales of licensed goods amounted to $292.8 billion, following six consecutive years of growth. Although art and non-profit museums historically represented only 1.5% of these sales, these sectors are now experiencing significant growth. For example, the Louvre’s brand partnerships generated approximately $5.3 million in 2020, compared to $3.2 million in 2019.

Museums, as custodians of rich cultural heritage and knowledge, have recognised the importance of expanding and diversifying their revenue streams to reach wider global audiences. Copyright management presents unique challenges for museums, as they need to determine ownership and copyright protection for the works in their collections. Accurate acquisition records and provenance history play a pivotal role in resolving copyright-related queries. Museums must ensure the completeness and accuracy of their acquisition records to avoid legal complications. Proper management and compliance with copyright laws are essential for museums to strike a balance between preserving cultural heritage and respecting the rights of creators. Licensing cultural IP programs also effectively engage younger audiences, who view art as a means of self-expression. Moreover, licensing cultural IP allows museums to enhance their brand positioning and gain greater recognition. This is primarily achieved by executing cultural IP on products in increasingly sophisticated ways. Simple replication of artwork on a t-shirt, phone case, or product no longer suffices; consumers now demand unique, beautiful, and meticulously crafted products. Companies like ARTiSTORY, for instance, develop on-trend themes, style guides, narratives, and bespoke creative assets like prints and patterns inspired by museum collections. This approach transforms artworks and artifacts into captivating stories and narratives that are more engaging, impactful, and attractive to brands and consumers.

The advent of digitalisation has further expanded the possibilities for IP management in museums. Digital platforms such as Google Arts & Culture provide cultural organisations with tools to share their treasures and narratives with a global online audience. Google Arts & Culture has a presence in over 80 countries and supports more than 2,000 cultural institutions, offering access to a vast collection of resources, including over 200,000 high-resolution digital images of original artworks, 7 million archival artifacts, 1,800 Street View museum captures, and over 3,000 online exhibitions curated by experts. Through the platform, visitors can explore and discover artworks, landmarks, and world heritage sites and delve into digital exhibitions, gaining insights into the archives of cultural institutions worldwide. Google has adopted a unique approach to intellectual property rights on its platform. According to the platform’s intellectual property policy, the museums retain ownership of the high-resolution imagery of the artworks featured on the site, which may be protected by copyright laws worldwide. Google owns the Street View imagery, while the purpose of providing all the imagery on the site is to enable users to utilise and enjoy the platform in accordance with Google’s Terms of Service.

India’s rich cultural heritage is represented by over 1,200 museums, reflecting the country’s diverse cultural, religious, and scientific achievements over the years. Private museums in India have witnessed a significant rise in the past decade, reflecting the growing interest of business dynasties and serious collectors in sharing their art collections with the public. These private initiatives go beyond mere acquisition of artworks, aiming to create cultural spaces that nurture art communities. Inspired by the idea that art belongs not only to individuals but also to culture, collectors like Ajay Piramal, Kiran Nadar, and Anupam Poddar have established private museums to showcase their collections as well as artworks from other collectors. These museums, funded by the founders themselves or through philanthropic grants, offer free admission and strive to achieve global standards, emphasizing the importance of high-quality exhibits and engaging programs. Setting up a private museum in India involves costs ranging from Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 5 crore, including expenses for lighting, licenses, legal fees, curator salaries, and managerial costs. Unlike government-funded museums, private ventures have the advantage of faster establishment and better control over the quality of exhibits.

However, Indian museums still face challenges in terms of management, maintenance, and conservation. To overcome these issues, private museums are focusing on cataloguing, restoration, archiving, and ensuring financial stability through endowments or dedicated funding. Additionally, the success of private museums in India depends on the integration of engaging programs that facilitate the interaction of artists, collectors, curators, and students, transforming these spaces into vibrant cultural hubs. A notable example of a successful public-private partnership is the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, managed through a collaborative effort between the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation, and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). Another instance of a successful public-private partnership is the Kolkata Museum of Modern Art, which operates through a tripartite collaboration involving the Indian government, the government of West Bengal, and the private sector. These examples showcase how the implementation of public-private partnership models can foster collaboration and contribute to the establishment of top-quality museums in India.

Despite the challenges, digitalisation offers museums new opportunities to reach broader audiences, engage with the public in innovative ways, and generate revenue through creative IP management strategies. A prominent example of digital innovation in the museum sector is the Van Gogh 360-degree digital immersive art exhibition, which arrived in India at Mumbai’s World Trade Centre in early 2023. The exhibition, which is currently being staged in New Delhi, will tour 15 more cities in the country, including Bengaluru, Chennai, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, and Pune. Featuring over 300 of Vincent Willem van Gogh’s artworks in a 360° technological adaptation, the exhibition demonstrates how digitalisation can bring renowned art to life and make it accessible to a wider audience. This fusion of technology and art not only enhances the visitor experience but also underscores the critical role of IP in preserving and promoting cultural heritage in the digital age.

As museums navigate the complexities of IP management and digitalisation, a deep understanding and careful application of these legal principles are essential for preserving cultural heritage, supporting educational initiatives, and fostering innovation. This exploration examines the legal and copyright issues that arise in the digitisation of museum collections and analyses how Indian museums are adapting to these challenges compared to their international counterparts. In this digital era, intellectual property plays a vital role in preserving our rich cultural heritage and fostering innovation within esteemed institutions such as museums, libraries, and archives. Effective management of IP assets is crucial for ensuring the sustainability of these institutions in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. By understanding and effectively managing the various types of IP discussed above, museums can continue to thrive and contribute to society while protecting their unique contributions for future generations.

The Challenges of Preservation and Digitisation within Copyright Law^xxii

Preserving and digitizing cultural heritage within the confines of copyright law presents numerous challenges. Museums, libraries, and archives must navigate a complex legal landscape as they seek to digitise and preserve cultural artifacts such as books, artworks, and recordings. Copyright law grants creators exclusive rights over their works, including control over reproduction, distribution, and public display. While these protections are essential for safeguarding the rights of creators, they often pose significant barriers for cultural institutions aiming to preserve and share cultural heritage in the digital age.

The primary objective of preserving cultural heritage is to safeguard the legacy of diverse histories and traditions for future generations. However, this mission is complicated by copyright laws that vary across jurisdictions and involve multiple stakeholders, including artists, authors, publishers, and cultural institutions. Balancing the need for preservation with the legal requirement to respect copyright often requires complex negotiations, licensing agreements, or reliance on specific exemptions designed for cultural preservation. Initiatives such as the International Museum Expo 2023 and policies from the National Archives of India highlight the critical importance of navigating these copyright issues effectively.

One major challenge in this area is the issue of orphan works, where the rights holders of many cultural artifacts are unknown or cannot be located. This situation creates significant obstacles for digitisation efforts, as institutions may be reluctant to digitise such works due to the risk of potential copyright infringement. Moreover, the preservation of cultural heritage often involves materials that cross national borders, further complicating compliance with international copyright laws and treaties. The rapid evolution of digital technologies adds another layer of complexity, as institutions must address issues such as format obsolescence and digital rights management (DRM), which can impede long-term access to digitised cultural content.

Despite these challenges, copyright law provides some degree of flexibility. For example, the doctrine of fair use allows for the limited use of copyrighted materials for purposes such as research and scholarship, facilitating the digitisation and preservation of cultural heritage. Specific exceptions in copyright law, such as those for orphan works or library and archive use, provide legal pathways for cultural institutions to manage and share their collections while adhering to copyright regulations. However, these provisions are often insufficient to address the full range of issues faced by cultural institutions, and reliance on fair use or other exceptions can be fraught with legal uncertainty.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Digital Access and Copyright

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on access to educational and cultural resources, as quarantine and lockdown measures led to the closure of schools, universities, and public libraries worldwide. This situation underscored the urgent need for digital access to cultural and educational materials, prompting discussions and initiatives to address the challenges posed by such unprecedented circumstances.

In response to the widespread closure of libraries, the Internet Archive launched the “National Emergency Library” in March 2020, which expanded the existing Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) program. This initiative allowed for the simultaneous borrowing of nearly 1.4 million digital literary works, albeit on a temporary basis. The CDL model, based on an “owned-to-loaned” ratio, ensures that only one user can access a specific copy at a time, with technical safeguards in place to prevent unauthorised retention or distribution. However, this initiative sparked a contentious debate in the United States regarding the boundaries of copyright law in emergency situations.^xxiii

Similarly, HathiTrust implemented emergency provisions through its Emergency Temporary Access Program, allowing libraries to provide digital access to their collections during the pandemic. In India, the National Digital Library of India opened access to approximately 7 million copyrighted books and articles for students under a so-called “national license,” although the specifics of this license remain unclear.

The pandemic highlighted unresolved issues related to copyright law and digital works, particularly within the Indian legal context. The digitisation and sharing of literary works and books have long been contentious, and the legality of initiatives like Controlled Digital Lending remains uncertain in both India and the United States. In India, two primary defenses against copyright infringement in digital lending could be considered: the argument that lending a lawfully possessed copy does not infringe copyright under Section 14 of the Copyright Act, and that such use could be protected as fair dealing under Section 52 of the Act^xxiv.

The doctrine of copyright exhaustion, also known as the “first sale” doctrine, is relevant in this context. Under Indian law, this doctrine permits the redistribution of legally obtained copies of a work without infringing copyright. However, applying this doctrine to digital works presents challenges, given that digital items are copied in almost every computing or networking transaction. The U.S. case of Capitol Records v. ReDigi highlights this complexity, where the court ruled against the resale of digital music files, underscoring the difficulties in applying traditional copyright principles to digital content.

Standardizing Documentation Systems and Reforming Copyright Law

Standardizing documentation systems is essential for successful digitisation efforts, as inconsistencies in data can undermine the effectiveness of digital preservation. Indian museums, which have historically relied on manual documentation systems, have faced challenges in maintaining consistent and compatible data across their collections. The shift to computerised documentation, driven by the need for greater consistency and universal access, began in the mid-1990s. However, these early efforts were often hindered by high costs, technological limitations, and skill gaps among museum staff.

Recognizing these challenges, the Ministry of Culture of India launched a comprehensive reform agenda in 2009, which included the creation of a national portal and digital repository known as Museums of India, developed in collaboration with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). This initiative aims to standardise museum documentation and provide broad access to heritage antiquities, representing a significant step forward in the digitisation of India’s cultural heritage.

The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) has been a pioneering institution in this regard, focusing on developing computerised systems for the storage, retrieval, and dissemination of information on India’s diverse arts and cultural heritage since its establishment in 1987. The IGNCA’s efforts, particularly through the National Cultural Audiovisual Archives (NCAA), have achieved significant milestones, including becoming the world’s first Trusted Digital Repository as per ISO 16363:2012 standards. These advancements highlight the potential of digital archiving to preserve cultural assets for future generations while making them accessible to a global audience.

The transition from manual to digital systems in cultural institutions represents a profound shift in how cultural heritage is managed and shared. The successful digitisation of cultural heritage requires not only the adoption of best practices and advanced technologies but also a rethinking of the legal frameworks that govern intellectual property. As cultural institutions continue to navigate the complexities of copyright law in the digital age, the need for reform and adaptation becomes increasingly pressing. Addressing these challenges is critical to ensuring that the rich tapestry of cultural heritage is preserved, shared, and appreciated by future generations in an increasingly digital world^xxv.

Digitisation of Museums and the Legal Complexities of Copyright in 3D Technologies

The digitisation of cultural heritage, particularly through the use of 3D technologies, has become a transformative phenomenon within the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) sector. As these institutions seek to preserve and provide broader access to their collections, they face intricate legal challenges, particularly in copyright law. 3D digitisation and 3D printing of cultural artifacts involve various aspects of copyright, raising questions about ownership, rights management, and fair use.

• The Role of 3D Technologies in Museums

3D digitisation and printing technologies offer museums the opportunity to create detailed replicas of cultural artifacts, enabling preservation and making collections accessible to a wider audience. By using techniques like photogrammetry, laser scanning, and structured light scanning, museums can produce highly accurate 3D models of artifacts, which can be shared online or used for educational and research purposes. This not only enhances the visitor experience but also facilitates the study and conservation of cultural heritage.

In addition to preservation and access, 3D technologies allow for the creation of replicas for exhibition or educational purposes, reducing the need for handling fragile originals. Museums can also use 3D printed replicas for interactive exhibits, where visitors can touch and engage with reproductions, providing a tactile experience that would not be possible with original artifacts.

• Legal and Copyright Challenges in 3D Digitisation

The adoption of 3D technologies in museums raises complex copyright issues. When creating 3D models of cultural artifacts, questions arise about who holds the copyright to the digitised versions. If the original artifact is in the public domain, the copyright status of its 3D representation may still be ambiguous. For example, while the original work may not be protected by copyright, the digital 3D model could be considered a new creation, potentially subject to its own copyright.

The reproduction of artifacts using 3D printing also presents challenges regarding copyright infringement. If the original artifact is copyrighted, creating a 3D model or replica without the rights holder’s permission could be seen as a violation of copyright law. Museums must navigate these legal complexities, often requiring agreements or licenses to use 3D technologies for digitisation and reproduction.

• Strategies for Addressing Copyright Issues in 3D Technologies

To address these challenges, museums can adopt several strategies:

1. Clear Licensing Agreements: Establishing clear licensing agreements for the use of 3D technologies can help define the rights and responsibilities of all parties involved. These agreements should outline the terms of use for digitised artifacts, including reproduction, distribution, and display rights.

2. Fair Use Considerations: Museums can explore the fair use doctrine, which allows limited use of copyrighted works for purposes such as research, education, and criticism. However, fair use is often narrowly defined and varies by jurisdiction, making it essential for museums to carefully consider its application in the context of 3D digitisation.

3. Public Domain Artifacts: Focusing on artifacts in the public domain can mitigate copyright concerns. Museums can prioritise the digitisation of works whose copyrights have expired, ensuring that the resulting 3D models are free from copyright restrictions.

4. Collaboration with Rights Holders: Museums can collaborate with rights holders, artists, and creators to obtain permissions for the digitisation and use of copyrighted artifacts. These collaborations can lead to mutually beneficial arrangements that respect the rights of creators while allowing for the preservation and sharing of cultural heritage.

5. Institutional Policies and Guidelines: Developing institutional policies and guidelines for the use of 3D technologies can provide a framework for addressing copyright issues. These policies should outline best practices for digitisation, rights management, and the use of 3D models in educational and research contexts.

The ongoing development of digital technologies and their application in cultural heritage preservation underscores the need for a nuanced understanding of copyright law. As museums continue to explore the possibilities offered by 3D technologies, they must balance the desire to innovate and share with the need to respect and protect the rights of creators. By doing so, they can ensure that cultural heritage is preserved and appreciated in ways that honor both the past and the future.

Emerging Technological Issues and Their Legal Implications in Museums

The integration of emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR), in museums has opened new avenues for enhancing visitor experiences, preserving cultural heritage, and creating interactive and immersive exhibitions. However, these technological advancements also bring with them a range of legal implications, particularly concerning intellectual property rights, privacy, and ethical considerations.^xxvi

• Artificial Intelligence in Museums

AI is increasingly being used in museums for various purposes, including curatorial tasks, visitor engagement, and the preservation of artifacts. AI-powered tools can analyse vast amounts of data, providing insights into visitor preferences, optimizing exhibition layouts, and even creating personalised experiences. For instance, AI can generate digital reconstructions of ancient artifacts or historical events, offering visitors a deeper understanding of the cultural context.

However, the use of AI in museums raises several legal and ethical concerns. One major issue is the copyright status of AI-generated content. If an AI system creates a new work, determining the ownership of the copyright can be challenging. Unlike human creators, AI systems do not have legal personhood, making it unclear who holds the copyright—the programmer, the museum, or a third party. This ambiguity requires legal frameworks that address the ownership and protection of AI-generated works.

Moreover, AI systems often rely on existing copyrighted materials for training purposes, which can lead to copyright infringement issues. Museums must ensure that their use of AI respects the intellectual property rights of original creators, obtaining necessary licenses or permissions for the use of copyrighted content in AI training datasets.

• Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in Museums

VR and AR technologies have transformed the way visitors interact with museum exhibits, allowing them to explore virtual environments and engage with digital replicas of artifacts. These technologies can enhance storytelling, provide immersive educational experiences, and make exhibitions more accessible to remote audiences. For example, visitors can use AR applications to view historical sites as they once appeared, or explore virtual galleries from the comfort of their homes.

While VR and AR offer exciting possibilities, they also present legal challenges related to intellectual property and content ownership. The creation of VR and AR experiences often involves the use of copyrighted materials, such as images, videos, and sound recordings. Museums must navigate the complex landscape of licensing agreements and copyright permissions to ensure that their use of VR and AR technologies does not infringe on the rights of content creators.

Privacy concerns also arise with the use of VR and AR technologies. These platforms often collect data on user interactions, preferences, and behaviors, raising questions about data protection and user consent. Museums must implement robust data privacy policies to ensure that visitor data is collected, stored, and used in compliance with relevant privacy regulations.

• Ethical Considerations and Cultural Sensitivity

The use of emerging technologies in museums requires careful consideration of ethical issues, particularly when dealing with culturally sensitive materials. Digital reconstructions of historical events or artifacts must be accurate and respectful, avoiding misrepresentation or cultural appropriation. Museums have a responsibility to engage with relevant communities and stakeholders, ensuring that their use of technology aligns with cultural sensitivities and ethical standards.

Furthermore, the digital reproduction of artifacts can raise concerns about the commercialisation and exploitation of cultural heritage. Museums must balance the benefits of using emerging technologies for educational and preservation purposes with the need to respect the cultural and intellectual property rights of source communities.

As the use of emerging technologies in museums continues to evolve, the development of clear legal frameworks and guidelines will be essential. By addressing these legal and ethical challenges, museums can leverage the potential of new technologies to create meaningful and engaging experiences that honor the past while embracing the future.

The Future of Digital Preservation in Museums: Navigating Intellectual Property Challenges

The future of digital preservation in museums is increasingly intertwined with the complexities of intellectual property law. As museums continue to adopt digital technologies to preserve and share cultural heritage, they must navigate a rapidly evolving legal landscape that poses both challenges and opportunities. The intersection of digital preservation and intellectual property law is critical in ensuring that museums can fulfill their mission of safeguarding cultural heritage while respecting the rights of creators and content owners.

• The Role of Copyright in Digital Preservation

Copyright law plays a fundamental role in digital preservation efforts, providing the legal framework that governs the use, reproduction, and distribution of cultural materials. As museums digitise their collections, they must ensure that they comply with copyright laws, obtaining necessary permissions and licenses for the use of copyrighted works. This process often involves negotiations with rights holders, licensing agreements, and reliance on legal exceptions such as fair use or library and archive exemptions.

The challenge of managing copyright in digital preservation is compounded by the diversity of materials in museum collections, which may include artworks, photographs, manuscripts, and audiovisual recordings, each subject to different copyright rules. Additionally, the global nature of digital access means that museums must consider international copyright laws and treaties, further complicating compliance efforts.

• Technological Innovations and Intellectual Property Management

Technological innovations offer new solutions for managing intellectual property in digital preservation. Digital rights management (DRM) technologies, for example, can help museums control access to digitised materials, ensuring that they are used in accordance with copyright agreements. Watermarking and metadata tagging can provide attribution and tracking, helping to prevent unauthorised use and reproduction of digital content.

Blockchain technology also holds promise for intellectual property management in the digital preservation sector. By providing a decentralised and transparent ledger, blockchain can facilitate the registration and tracking of copyright ownership, licenses, and usage rights. This technology has the potential to streamline copyright management, reduce disputes, and enhance trust among stakeholders.

• Open Access and the Public Domain

The movement toward open access and the promotion of public domain materials are critical components of the future of digital preservation. Open access initiatives encourage museums to make their collections freely available online, increasing accessibility and engagement with cultural heritage. By prioritizing the digitisation of public domain works and using open licensing models, museums can reduce legal barriers and promote the free exchange of knowledge.

However, the open access movement must be balanced with the protection of intellectual property rights. Museums need to develop policies that respect the rights of creators while promoting access to cultural heritage. This may involve adopting open access licenses that allow for non-commercial use or implementing time-limited embargoes on recently digitised works.

The future of digital preservation in museums is shaped by the interplay between technological advancements and intellectual property law. As museums embrace digital technologies to preserve and share cultural heritage, they must navigate complex legal challenges to ensure compliance with copyright laws and the protection of intellectual property rights. By leveraging technological innovations, promoting open access, and developing clear legal frameworks, museums can enhance their digital preservation efforts and contribute to the global dissemination of cultural knowledge.

The successful integration of digital preservation practices will depend on the collaboration of museums, legal experts, technologists, and policymakers. Together, they can create an environment that supports the preservation of cultural heritage while respecting the rights of creators and ensuring that future generations can access and appreciate the richness of our shared cultural history.

Digital and Digitisation practices in Western Museums and IP Practices around it

The British Museum

The British Museum in London is embarking on a groundbreaking project to enhance digital access to its vast collection. Announced on 18 October, the museum’s initiative aims to digitise and make available online its entire collection, a process expected to span five years. This ambitious endeavor will ensure that every object in the British Museum, totaling 2.4 million records, is accessible to individuals worldwide. The project not only focuses on creating an extensive online archive but also on improving physical access to the collection. In addition to the digital resource, the museum plans to upgrade its study rooms, allowing both the public and academics to view additional items by appointment. Interim Director Mark Jones emphasised that this increased access is a proactive response to recent thefts within the museum, aiming to make the collection more visible and, thus, more secure. By enabling broader access and engagement, the museum hopes to facilitate quicker detection of any missing items and enhance the overall use and appreciation of its holdings^xxvii.

To complement the digitisation efforts, the British Museum will also strengthen its partnerships with other museums and expand its travelling exhibitions. This strategy aims to bring the museum’s treasures to a global audience who may not have the opportunity to visit London in person. George Osborne, Chair of Trustees, highlighted the museum’s already high visitor numbers and extensive international outreach, affirming support for the plan to increase both digital and physical access. By leveraging these initiatives, the British Museum seeks to solidify its position as a leading institution in museum accessibility and engagement, transforming how audiences interact with and experience its world-renowned collection.

The British Museum has implemented a comprehensive approach to intellectual property (IP) in the digital domain, reflecting its commitment to both accessibility and responsible management of its collection. The Museum increasingly employs a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license for its digital content, aiming to broaden public access while maintaining control over commercial use. This license allows users to freely copy, distribute, and build upon the Museum’s digital content, such as high-resolution images and 3D models, provided that the use is non-commercial and properly attributed to the Museum. This initiative supports educational and scholarly activities, enabling broader dissemination of the Museum’s resources while safeguarding against commercial exploitation^xxviii.

However, not all content on the British Museum’s website is available under this open license. Content that includes third-party intellectual property or is subject to cultural sensitivities may be excluded from this arrangement. The Museum carefully curates which materials are made available under Creative Commons, balancing open access with the need to respect copyright restrictions and cultural considerations. For content not covered by Creative Commons, users must seek specific permission, particularly for commercial applications, ensuring compliance with the Museum’s IP policies and legal requirements^xxix. This nuanced approach reflects the Museum’s dedication to advancing digital engagement while upholding rigorous standards of intellectual property management.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York City has been at the forefront of digital practices and digitisation in the museum sector, significantly advancing how art and artifacts are preserved and presented. The Met’s digital strategy encompasses a broad array of initiatives aimed at increasing accessibility and engagement. Through its online collection database, The Met provides free and open access to high-resolution images and detailed information on over 700,000 objects. This effort, known as The Met Collection, allows scholars, researchers, and the public to explore the museum’s extensive holdings from anywhere in the world, enhancing transparency and fostering global engagement with its collections^xxx. Additionally, The Met’s digitisation efforts extend to virtual exhibitions and interactive features. For instance, the museum’s website offers immersive digital exhibitions that replicate the physical gallery experience, complete with 3D models and augmented reality (AR) components, thereby offering innovative ways to experience art and artifacts remotely^xxxi.

Furthermore, The Met has been leveraging digital tools to enhance the conservation and study of its collections. High-resolution imaging techniques, including multispectral imaging, are employed to uncover hidden details and aid in the preservation of delicate works. This digital documentation supports scholarly research and facilitates the conservation of objects by providing detailed records of their condition over time. By integrating digital practices into its operational framework, The Met not only improves access to its vast collection but also advances the field of museum studies through the application of cutting-edge technology.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) has established comprehensive intellectual property (IP) practices in the digital space, ensuring the protection and proper use of the content available on its online platforms. The museum provides access to its websites, subdomains, and application program interfaces (APIs) in support of its mission to collect, preserve, study, and exhibit works of art. All content on The Met’s digital platforms, including text, images, data, and multimedia files, is proprietary to the museum or its licensors, unless explicitly identified as Open Access (OA). Materials marked as OA are either believed to be in the public domain or are made freely available by the museum under a Creative Commons Sero (CC0) license. This allows users to download, use, and share such materials for any purpose, without requiring permission from The Met. However, for materials not identified as OA, The Met strictly limits their use to non-commercial, educational, and personal purposes, requiring users to properly cite the museum as the source and prohibiting any unauthorised commercial exploitation of these materials^xxxii.

Additionally, The Met enforces the protection of its trademarks and other proprietary rights in the digital realm. Trademarks, service marks, and logos displayed on the museum’s websites, such as “THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART,” “THE MET CLOISTERS,” and “THE MET STORE,” are either registered or unregistered marks of The Met. The museum does not grant any license or right to use these trademarks without express written permission. Any unauthorised use, including using the trademarks in URLs or for commercial gain, is strictly prohibited. The museum also adheres to the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), ensuring that all content on its digital platforms complies with U.S. copyright laws and allowing copyright owners to report any potential infringements. The Met reserves the right to remove or restrict access to any infringing content and to terminate accounts of repeat infringers, thereby maintaining a secure and legally compliant digital environment.^xxxiii

Musee du Louvre

The Musée du Louvre, established in 1793, stands as one of the most influential and visited museums globally. In recent years, it has embraced digital innovation to enhance visitor experience and broaden its reach. One notable digital strategy was the 2012 partnership with Nintendo, which marked a significant shift in how museums engage with technology. By integrating the Nintendo 3DS into its offerings, the Louvre transformed traditional audio guides into interactive experiences. The 3DS devices provided visitors with over 700 commentaries on artworks, interactive maps, and 3D models of sculptures and paintings. This approach not only rejuvenated the museum’s engagement with younger and tech-savvy audiences but also pioneered the use of augmented reality (AR) within the museum context, enriching the overall visitor experience and making art more accessible and engaging.

In addition to hardware partnerships, the Louvre has made substantial advancements through its digital platforms. The museum’s website, a pioneering example of digital engagement, offers a wealth of resources, including HD reproductions of artworks, virtual tours, and educational content. Recently revamped, the site now features AI-based conversational tools designed to assist visitors in planning their museum experience. This user-centric approach has proven highly effective, attracting over 15 million unique visitors annually. The website not only enhances pre-visit engagement but also supports physical attendance, with a significant proportion of site visitors eventually exploring the museum in person. Complementing this, the “Petite Galerie” exhibition, linked with an AR mobile app, provides an immersive way for users to experience artworks in their restored states, bridging digital and physical realms^xxxiv.

The Louvre’s commitment to digital transformation extends to data-driven decision-making and collaborative initiatives. By analyzing visitor data, the museum optimises its operations and tailors its offerings to meet evolving demands. The implementation of real-time incident tracking tools further enhances visitor service. In 2017, the museum established a digital steering committee to guide its digital strategy, focusing on enhancing visitor experience and integrating digital skills across departments. Additionally, initiatives like the ReACH program and the development of 3D digitisation and modeling projects reflect the Louvre’s dedication to preserving and disseminating cultural heritage through advanced technologies. These efforts not only advance the museum’s digital capabilities but also contribute to global discussions on the role of digital technologies in cultural heritage preservation and public engagement^xxxv.

The Louvre Museum’s approach to intellectual property (IP) in the digital space reflects a meticulous balance between accessibility and protection. The museum’s collections website provides free access to a vast array of images and textual content, but usage is governed by specific IP practices. According to the museum’s guidelines, photographs of artworks that are not protected by copyright can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, including museographic, scientific, and educational activities, provided that proper credits and a permalink to the image’s description are included (Musée du Louvre, 2024). This open-access policy supports educational and research endeavors while maintaining the integrity of the museum’s IP by restricting commercial use of these images without prior permission.

For copyrighted works, such as those by contemporary artists like Anselm Kiefer and Cy Twombly, the museum requires users to obtain prior authorisation from the rightsholders before any reproduction or representation is allowed (Musée du Louvre, 2024). Textual content on the Louvre’s website is made available under the Etalab Open Licence, permitting extensive reuse, including commercial applications, as long as the authorship and source are acknowledged (Musée du Louvre, 2024). This policy ensures that the museum’s digital resources can be widely utilised while protecting the intellectual property rights associated with its collections. The general structure of the website, including trademarks and logos, remains strictly protected under French IP law, prohibiting any unauthorised reproduction or adaptation (Musée du Louvre, 2024). By implementing these IP practices, the Louvre Museum fosters both the dissemination of knowledge and the safeguarding of its digital assets^xxxvi.

Comparing Indian Practices with Western Practices

In recent years, major museums around the world have increasingly embraced digital and digitisation practices to expand their reach, preserve their collections, and enhance visitor experiences. Among these institutions, the National Museum in Delhi and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) in Mumbai have made significant strides in their digital initiatives. However, when compared to the extensive and long-established digital programs of international giants like the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met), and the Louvre, there are notable differences in scope, approach, and accessibility.

The National Museum and CSMVS have focused on creating immersive digital experiences for their audiences, particularly through virtual galleries and digital installations. The National Museum’s collaboration with Google Arts and Culture to create a Virtual Gallery is a prime example, offering access to over 750 objects and in-depth stories for more than 70 artifacts. Additionally, the VEMA (Virtual Experiential Museum Ajanta) installation at the National Museum provides an immersive, interactive experience of the Ajanta caves, complete with 3D animations and augmented reality features. Similarly, CSMVS has been expanding its digital content, though it is still in the process of developing a more robust online presence. These initiatives demonstrate a commitment to leveraging digital technologies to enhance public engagement, yet they remain somewhat limited in comparison to the comprehensive digital archives and platforms established by their international counterparts.

The British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Louvre have developed extensive digitisation programs that not only preserve their vast collections but also make them widely accessible online. The British Museum’s digital collections platform, for instance, allows users to explore millions of objects from its collection, many of which are accompanied by high-resolution images and detailed descriptions. The Met, through its Open Access initiative, provides free access to over 400,000 images of artworks in its collection, under a Creative Commons Sero (CC0) license, which allows for unrestricted use. The Louvre has also digitised a significant portion of its collection, offering online access to artworks, detailed catalogues, and interactive features. These museums have invested heavily in making their collections globally accessible, supporting research, education, and public engagement on a scale that surpasses the current capabilities of the National Museum and CSMVS.

Moreover, the international museums have also embraced advanced digital tools to create engaging online experiences. The Met’s extensive use of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) allows developers and researchers to access and build upon its digital collections, fostering a broader range of applications and digital projects. The British Museum and the Louvre have similarly integrated digital tools like 3D modeling and virtual tours, providing users with an immersive experience of their physical spaces and exhibitions from anywhere in the world. While the National Museum and CSMVS are making strides in this direction, their digital infrastructure and the scale of their offerings still lag behind. These international institutions’ commitment to digital accessibility and innovation highlights the potential for Indian museums to further expand their digital footprints and explore new ways to engage with global audiences.

Comparison of legal practices

Museums serve as custodians of cultural and historical artifacts, playing a pivotal role in educating the public and preserving heritage. Intellectual Property (IP) laws are fundamental in managing and protecting these assets, ensuring that museums can effectively safeguard and utilise their collections. This article offers a comparative analysis of IP laws affecting museums in the United States, the United Kingdom, India, and the European Union, with a focus on copyright, trademark, and related rights. It also explores how museums adapt to the challenges of digitalisation using these legal frameworks.

In the United States, copyright law is governed by the Copyright Act of 1976 , which grants museums the exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, and publicly display original works. This legal framework is essential for institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which manages an extensive collection of art spanning various periods and cultures^xxxvii. For example, the Met’s stringent copyright management helps control the reproduction of artworks and artifacts, ensuring that high-quality reproductions are produced and unauthorised uses are prevented. In the digital age, the Met and other institutions have embraced digital technologies to enhance public access while managing copyright risks. Museums digitise their collections to provide online access, but they must navigate copyright restrictions carefully. For instance, The Smithsonian Institution employs digital rights management (DRM) systems to protect its digital collections from unauthorised reproduction and distribution, ensuring that online access aligns with copyright laws.

Trademark protection in the United States is governed by the Lanham Act , which helps museums protect their branding elements such as names, logos, and slogans^xxxviii. The Getty Center in Los Angeles, for example, uses trademarks to safeguard its name and logo, preventing unauthorised use and maintaining brand integrity. This protection is crucial for maintaining the museum’s reputation and preventing confusion among the public. The Getty also engages in various commercial ventures, such as licensing its brand for educational materials and merchandise. Trademark laws ensure that these commercial activities do not dilute or misrepresent the museum’s brand.

Moral rights in the United States, as provided by the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA), offer limited protections compared to other jurisdictions. While VARA allows artists to claim authorship and object to distortion of their work, these rights are relatively narrow. Museums like the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago utilise VARA to respect artists’ moral rights, ensuring that artworks are presented with proper attribution and without distortion. However, the limited scope of VARA often requires museums to negotiate directly with artists to address issues related to moral rights, particularly in collaborative exhibitions^xxxix.

In the United Kingdom, copyright protection is governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA), which grants museums exclusive rights similar to those in the U.S. The British Museum, for instance, utilises copyright laws to manage its extensive collection of artifacts and artworks. The museum controls the reproduction and display of its collection, including digital reproductions. For example, when creating digital archives or online exhibitions, the British Museum ensures that it complies with copyright restrictions, often using licensing agreements to manage digital access and reproduction. The UK’s “fair dealing” provisions permit limited use of copyrighted works for educational and research purposes, allowing museums to support scholarly activities while respecting copyright limitations^xl.

Trademark protection in the UK is governed by the Trade Marks Act 1994, which helps museums protect their branding elements. The Tate, one of the UK’s leading art institutions, uses trademarks to safeguard its name and logo across various platforms, including its merchandise and digital presence. For example, the Tate’s branding is used on a wide range of products, from catalogues to clothing, with trademark protection ensuring that these products are genuine and that the museum’s brand is not exploited by unauthorised sellers^xli.

The UK provides robust protection for moral rights under the CDPA, including the right to attribution and the right to object to derogatory treatment of a work. This protection is particularly relevant for the Tate, which ensures that artworks are displayed in ways that respect the artists’ moral rights. For instance, the Tate has implemented policies to ensure that any alterations or presentations of artworks in exhibitions do not undermine the artist’s reputation.

In India, copyright protection is governed by the Copyright Act, 1957 (as amended), which grants similar rights to museums for managing their collections. The National Museum in New Delhi uses copyright to control the reproduction and display of its diverse collection, which includes historical and cultural artifacts. As museums in India increasingly digitise their collections, they face the challenge of balancing digital access with copyright protection. The National Museum, for instance, must navigate copyright restrictions when creating digital archives or online exhibitions, often negotiating licenses to ensure that digital reproductions comply with Indian copyright laws^xlii.

Trademark protection in India is governed by the Trademarks Act, 1999, which helps museums protect their names, logos, and branding elements. The National Museum of India, for example, uses trademarks to protect its name and logo from unauthorised use, ensuring that its brand identity is maintained. This protection is crucial for preserving the museum’s reputation and preventing misuse of its trademarks in both physical and digital contexts^xliii.

India’s Copyright Act recognises moral rights, including the right of attribution and the right to integrity of the work. However, these rights are not as extensively protected as in the UK or EU. Museums in India, such as the National Museum, must navigate these moral rights carefully, particularly when dealing with traditional knowledge and cultural expressions. As digital technologies evolve, Indian museums face the challenge of protecting traditional cultural expressions in digital formats, ensuring that digital reproductions respect the cultural and moral rights of the communities involved.

In the European Union, copyright law is harmonised across member states through directives such as the Copyright Directive and the Orphan Works Directive Museums like the Louvre in Paris benefit from this unified framework, which facilitates cross-border management of collections and exhibitions. For example, the Louvre’s digital initiatives, such as online exhibitions and virtual tours, are supported by EU copyright laws that allow for the digitisation and online display of artworks while managing copyright risks. The EU’s directives also include exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives, benefiting museums by allowing certain uses of copyrighted works for educational and research purposes (Copyright Directive, Article 5).

Trademark protection in the EU is governed by the European Union Trade Mark Regulation. Museums use EU trademarks to protect their branding elements across member states. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, for instance, utilises EU trademark protection to safeguard its name and logo throughout Europe, ensuring that its brand identity is consistent and protected from misuse. This protection extends to the museum’s merchandise and digital presence, preventing unauthorised use and maintaining the integrity of its brand.

The EU provides strong protection for moral rights under the Copyright Directive (2001/29/EC), including the right to attribution and the right to object to derogatory treatment of a work. These protections are important for museums in the EU, ensuring that artworks are displayed and presented in ways that respect the creators’ moral rights. For example, the Centre Pompidou in Paris ensures that artworks in its collection are presented in ways that uphold the artists’ reputational interests, adhering to EU moral rights standards.

Museums in the USA, UK, India, and the EU all benefit from IP laws that protect copyright and trademarks, though there are significant differences in the scope and application of these protections. Museums use these laws to manage their collections, safeguard intellectual assets, and support educational and cultural missions. As digital technologies continue to evolve, museums face new challenges and opportunities in managing digital reproductions and online access. Understanding these legal frameworks and adapting to the digital age is crucial for museums navigating the complexities of IP law in a global context.

Learnings and Conclusion

Indian museums aim to enhance their digital and digitisation practices by integrating strategies and technologies similar to those adopted by globally renowned institutions like the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met), and the Louvre. A key approach is the development of comprehensive digital platforms that make collections widely accessible, showcasing high-resolution images and detailed descriptions online. By embracing open access policies, Indian museums can create interactive, user-friendly digital spaces that foster greater engagement, support research, and enhance educational use. These efforts will not only elevate the visibility of India’s rich cultural heritage but also allow it to be appreciated and studied on a global scale.

Expanding digital archives with rich, high-quality content is another strategic area where Indian museums can draw inspiration from their Western counterparts. Institutions like the British Museum and the Met have built extensive digital repositories that provide far more than just visual access—they include detailed object descriptions, scholarly articles, audio guides, and multimedia resources. Indian museums can similarly enrich their archives by offering diverse content that caters to scholars, educators, and the general public, thereby creating a more engaging and informative experience for users worldwide. Such enhancements will ensure that the unique cultural narratives preserved in Indian museums resonate more deeply with diverse audiences.

Advanced technologies such as 3D modeling, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) offer Indian museums innovative ways to create immersive experiences. Leading Western museums have effectively utilised these technologies to provide interactive, virtual tours and allow audiences to explore artifacts in unprecedented detail. By integrating these tools, Indian museums can offer similar experiences, making their collections accessible to those who cannot physically visit, and providing a deeper, more interactive connection to the artifacts. Collaborations with global institutions and technology partners can further help Indian museums leverage cutting-edge expertise and expand their global presence.

The digital transformation of Indian museums represents a pivotal moment in cultural heritage preservation, offering new opportunities to merge traditional curation with modern technological advancements. While Indian museums have made notable strides through initiatives like the Jatan Project and the “Museums of India” portal, a focus on robust intellectual property (IP) management is essential to fully safeguard digital assets. Addressing legal complexities and establishing clear IP policies will not only protect museum content but also support broader audience engagement, drive innovation, and enhance financial sustainability. By embracing best practices from around the world and navigating the evolving landscape of digital IP, Indian museums can redefine their role as custodians of heritage, ensuring that India’s cultural legacy remains vibrant, accessible, and relevant for future generations.

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Ethnographic analysis on the use of digital technologies in two local museums

“ReInHerit AI Toolkit: enhancing Museum User Interaction and addressing Ethical Aspects”

Paolo Mazzanti and Marco Bertini, MICC – Media Integration and Communication Center, University of Florence, IT