Museum Digital Sustainability Talks: Take part in the three free workshops!

Museum Digital Sustainability Talks

This year, the ICOM SAREC Committee is supporting a project jointly conducted by ICOM Italy, ICOM Europe, and AVICOM, which aims at providing hybrid training on sustainable digital practices in museums. It aims to explore the integration of new technologies in the cultural landscape with an emphasis on sustainability and durability.

Cultural and museum professionals will be guided through the latest digital trends during a period divided into online talks and a final on-site meeting. The project offers three free English-language workshops, for which participants can submit their questions on the respective workshop topics in advance.

The reports and results of the workshops will be incorporated into a hybrid project conference to be held on October 16, 2024, one day before the start of the AVICOM annual conference in Turin. The program of the project conference is still being developed and will be announced in due time, among other channels, on the AVICOM website avicom.mini.icom.museum.

Please note that the number of workshop participants is limited. Therefore, early registration is recommended! Please use the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScNsJOxMWkWfUXfKnfcBg25wFaCnCu1uW3S3JsBTFGIGaejcg/viewform
Do you have technical problems with the registration or further questions? Please contact: info@icom-italia.org


Workshop Participants: Advanced students, young professionals, and experienced experts in the fields of museology, museum research, museum education, curation, media production, museum management, public relations …

Workshop Duration: approximately 2 hours

Workshop Format: English, online, via Zoom

Participation is free of charge.

Registration deadlines: 1st workshop: July 20; 2nd / 3rd workshop: July 31

For the workshop topic, please submit your questions using the online registration form. Your questions will then be reviewed and addressed during the workshop.

July 23, 2024, 12 PM (CET): Workshop:

What emotions can do for museum engagement

Despite the well known relationship between emotions and aesthetic experience acknowledged since the classical age, top down approaches to visitors’ engagement tend to leave them to personal appreciation of art. Emotions, in fact, still represent an uneven and slippery terrain for designing methods that ensure predictable and controllable experiences.

Today, however, computational technologies provide a variety of methods for dealing with emotions, ranging from natural language processing tools for detecting, extracting and analysing emotions to face expression recognition techniques that allow measuring the emotional response of the audience using non-intrusive, portable devices. 

Partly a response to the pervasiveness of emotions in social media languages and codes, these technologies can help create novel applications for engaging museum visitors with relatively simple tools. In this talk, I will review and discuss a set of case studies that illustrate this opportunity, with an eye on inclusion and sustainability. 

Workshop Leader: Prof. Rossana Damiano

Rossana Damiano is an associate professor of Computer Science at Università degli Studi di Torino (Department of Computer Science), Turin, Italy, where she teaches Web Programming and Semantic Technologies. Her research interests mainly concern artificial intelligence for cultural heritage, with a focus on affect and storytelling. She has taken part in several applicative projects, ranging from social semantic environments for learning and cultural dissemination, to semantic annotation of cultural heritage, and artificial characters.

August 22, 2024, 12 PM (CET): Workshop:

How can emergent technology help Museums contribute to Sustainable Communities?

Emerging technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence offer engaging and novel ways of communicating. This workshop will address the challenges, opportunities, threats, and barriers associated with museums realizing the potential of these emerging technologies. Augmented reality offers the possibility of extending the walls of the museum and taking digital representations of heritage into the surrounding landscape. Virtual reality enables virtual time travel, supporting exploration of the past and potential climate futures. Artificial intelligence offers the prospect of personalized interpretation, connecting heritage with sustainable development and sustainable communities. By considering these technologies from the perspective of contributing to sustainable communities, we will draw on positive experiences and case studies and explore how this knowledge can be disseminated.

Workshop Leader: Dr. Alan Miller

Dr. Alan Miller is a lecturer at the School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews, Scotland. He has been involved in the use of virtual world technologies for cultural heritage for over 10 years. He is a member of the Open Virtual Worlds (OVW) research group at the University of St Andrews and co-CEO of Smart History and Smart Heritage.

August 30, 2024, 12 PM (CET): Workshop:

Navigating Copyright and AI in Virtual Museum Offerings 

Join us for a comprehensive workshop led by an experienced attorney, focusing on the intersection of copyright and exploitation rights in virtual museum offerings and the use of artificial intelligence. Over two hours, we will explore crucial aspects of copyright law and data protection in the digital realm, with a particular emphasis on AI applications. Participants will engage in hands-on assignments and develop recommendations for citation practices in the context of AI usage. The workshop will also cover the implications of the EU AI Act for the museum sector, providing a solid foundation for legal and ethical AI integration in museums.

Workshop Leader: Yasmin Mahmoudi

Ms. Yasmin Mahmoudi is partner at the law firm Dr. Mahmoudi & Partner Rechtsanwälte mbB, Cologne, specialist lawyer for intellectual property, lecturer at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Chairwoman of the Board of the Society for the Promotion of ZADIK e.V. (https://zadik.phil-fak.uni-koeln.de/zadik-ev/vorstand). She advises museums, galleries, auction houses and collectors as well as artists, also pro bono through her involvement with Kölner Kulturpaten e.V..

Welcome to Turin!

Hpnx9420, Turin monte cappuccini, CC BY 3.0

AVICOM Annual Conference 2024 “News from the Digital Museum World”

From October 17 to 19, 2024, AVICOM will host its annual conference in a hybrid format, combined with the annual General Assembly, in Turin. This time, the theme is deliberately chosen to be broader to cover diverse focal points that are all directly related:

  1. Sustainability, Climate Change and Climate Protection, Equality and Inclusion: How are these aspects or demands considered in digital museum presentations? Which museums dedicate (digital) exhibitions and activities to the topic of climate change and climate protection?

  2. Innovative Examples / Best Practice Examples of Resource-Conserving Digital Presentations and Exhibition Installations

  3. Artificial Intelligence: How can museums use it, and what ethical and legal aspects need to be considered?

  4. Digitally Created or Digitized Artworks: What legal aspects need to be considered?

  5. Virtual Museums and Exhibitions: Definition, Requirements, Advantages and Disadvantages, Legal Aspects…

  6. Digital Educational Formats: Examples of Cooperation between University and Museum

You are all – students, young professionals, and experienced colleagues from the museum and media world – cordially invited to participate with a presentation, either on-site or online. We are happy to accept your proposals/applications from now on. Please send them to: dr.m.faber[at]t-online.de. Please refer to the attached information for details!

AVICOM looks forward to collaborating at the annual conference with: ICOM Italy, University of Turin, Museo diffuso della Resistenza, della Deportazione, della Guerra, dei Diritti e della Libertà, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

Paper-Conditions-EN-rev

The table is set. Food traditions and legacy in the Islamic World. Invitation to participate

Photo: Coffee House. Chester Beatty Library Dublin. Copyright: MWNF

 

 

Following AVICOM’s Annual Conference in St Andrews, Scotland, on “Sustainable Preservation and Promotion of Heritage: The Virtual Museum”:

INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN MUSEUM WITH NO FRONTIER’S (MWNF) NEW ONLINE EXHIBITION ON FOOD AND ENVIRONMENT, WITH SPECIFIC FOCUS ON THE ISLAMIC WORLD:

Exhibition title:

THE TABLE IS SET. Food traditions and legacy in the Islamic World.

A MWNF online Exhibition inspired by the Exhibition DINING WITH THE SULTAN. The fine art of feasting organised by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Foreseen Themes:

SOCIAL LIFE (sharing food at Islamic courts; sharing food in today’s societies; Ramadan; etc.) RELIGION (eating rules of Islam; special dishes/tableware; Ramadan, etc.)

ENVIRONMENT (the balance between food and nature; preservation methods and innovation; seasonal cuisine; techniques of recycling; water; etc.)

GENDERED ROLES (tasks and responsibilities of men and of women in agriculture and animal husbandry; the production and preparation of food; feasts; etc.)

COEXISTANCE (how food contributes to mutual knowledge; culinary syncretism; etc.)

The Exhibition will be set up in cooperation with our Partners. Its development will be based on the MWNF methodology, which is the result of many years of experience in this field. Further to the recent AVICOM event in St Andrews it is a great pleasure to extend the invitation to all museums that are interested in the topic of the Exhibition.

MWNF online Exhibitions are conceived as an opportunity for MWNF Partner institutions to jointly create new exhibitions using material that is already in the MWNF database as well as any new material selected specifically for the Exhibition. The shared curatorial work is at the heart of our process and platform. Here we have to bear in mind that the MWNF network includes museums hosting collections that are closely related to the country’s history and culture (e.g. Amman Citadel Museum) and museums hosting collections concerning primarily other countries and cultures (e.g. The British Museum).

Photo: Jordan Qusayr Amra

The overall thematic structure and curatorial concept of all MWNF online Exhibitions is that they must provide equal opportunities for both types of Partners to contribute to an Exhibition.

Also, it should be reminded that MWNF Exhibitions do not foresee an overall curatorial responsibility but the Exhibition will be the result of different approaches, different perspectives and different interpretations of the items on display. The Exhibition project is designed to facilitate synergies between the various contributions and to facilitate the development of a logical narrative that can be followed by visitors.

The MWNF online Museum includes a Permanent Collection, Exhibitions and a Database. It is set up as an independent entity and is managed by Museum With No Frontiers. Access to all MWNF products is free.

If you are interested in joining, please get in touch with Eva Schubert at eva.schubert@museumwnf.net.

We look forward to welcoming you!

More about MWNF: https://www.museumwnf.org/ & https://www.museumwnf.org/about

Successful: The AVICOM Conference “The Virtual Museum”

Participants’ travel to the conference: more than 40.000 kilometers: AVICOM conference 2023     

With around 40 participants on site and more than 90 participants who used the streaming service or joined in as speakers via Zoom, AVICOM looks back on a very successful annual conference on the topic of “Virtual Museum”.

In the venerable Parliament Hall in St Andrews, Scotland, 17 contributions and a workshop dealt with questions, requirements and possibilities for virtual museum education. The workshop in particular made it clear how necessary a definition of “virtual museum” is that is based on ICOM’s new museum definition. Because not every virtual museum presentation can be equated with a virtual museum.

The topic of “Virtual Museum” will therefore continue to occupy AVICOM: in a joint working group with the School of Computer Science at the University of St Andrews, which hosted the conference, and the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics. The next AVICOM annual conference will also be dedicated to this topic.

Looking back on a successful conference: AVICOM board together with Dr. Kamila Oles and Dr. Alan Miller (3rd and 4th from right) from the University of St Andrews

Workshop working groups

Speakers and board

Final updated: The Program of the AVICOM Conference, General Assembly and Media Festival 21-23 09 2023

Dear AVICOM conference participants,

To ensure a seamless conference experience, please take note of the following important details:

FOR REMOTE PARTICIPANTS:

To gain access to the streaming, please complete your registration on Eventbrite using this link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/719060538427?aff=oddtdtcreator
Please share the Eventbrite link with your colleagues or anyone who might be interested.

Below the final program:

AVICOM 2023 FINAL Conference Program_compressed

Online Workshop 13th Sept 2023: Museums, Virtual Reality and Sustainability in the Climate Emergency

Timetable (London Time)

Welcome Alan, Michael

12:00 – 1:20

  1. Heritage, Virtual Museums and the Climate Emergency

Henry McGhie: Museums Sustainability and Climate Change. Curating Tomorrow

Dr Jenny Newell: Imagining Potential Climate Futures. Australian Museum’s Climate Solutions Centre.

Klaus Thyman: Visualising Climate Change, Project Pressure

Nicola Henderson: Climate Ambassadors, Museums and Heritage Highland

Compere: Catherine Cassidy Carare

1:30 -2:30

  1. Building a Just Climate Future

Alaisdar Gordon Gibson: Climate Change a Humanitarian Emergency, Red Cross

Gozde Yilitz: Valorising Heritage Buildings, University of Sienna

Kevin Denham: Museum’s intervention in designing Climate friendly residential areas, Sweden

Ruiridh C Muir: Applying architecture to create climate friendly museums, Bard Architects

Compere: Maria Andrei University of St Ancrews

2:40 – 4:00

  1. Energy, Climate and Exhibitions

Michael H. Faber: Open Air Museums and Climate Change President of AVICOM

Maria Andrei: Immersive Climate Futures and Climate Action, UStA

Sophie Walker: Sophie Hynd: Verdant Works: a case study in climate informative exhibitions

Giula Gregnani: Beatrice: Transition Under Petrocapitalism, Timespan Museum and Archive

Pavat Kats: Digital infrastructure for sharing community climate information, Jewish Heritage

Compere: Alan Miller University of St Andrews

4:00 – 5:30

  1. Preparing for Climate Action

Kaye Hall: Barbados Museum and Historical Society

Ximena Jordan: Museos Frida Kahlo y Diego Rivera Anahuacalli

Ibrahim Tchan: Digital Resilience: Takienta’s Adaptation to Climate Change

Catherine Cassidy Virtual Museum of the Caribbean: EU-LAC project

Compere: Marta Peinador, AVICOM Board.

Register for our online workshop #Museums, #VirtualReality and #Sustainability in the #ClimateEmergency, that will take place next 13th September 2023.

Registration is free of charge in this link:

 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/museums-virtual-reality-and-sustainability-in-the-climate-emergency-tickets-684726755157

 For more information please, send an e-mail to alan.miller@st-andrews.ac.uk.

 

Updated! Program of the AVICOM Annual Conference & f@imp Festival 2023

Sustainable Preservation and Promotion of Heritage: The Virtual Museum

AVICOM Annual Conference & f@imp Festival 2023 – St Andrews, Scotland

Preliminary Program Version August 23 (All times: GMT)

Thursday September 21 Arrival Day:

15:00 Optional: Visit to the Wardlaw Museum (Museum of the University of St Andrews)

17:00 Medieval St Andrews guided tour (including St Andrews cathedral and castle)

Meeting point: Entrance to the Wardlaw Museum

 19:00 Welcome Meeting, School of Computer Science of the University of St Andrews, Jack Cole Building, North Haugh, St Andrews

Friday September 22: Sustainable Preservation and Promotion of Heritage: The Virtual Museum. General Assembly and Conference Part 1

Parliament Hall of the University of St Andrews, 66 South St, St Andrews

9:30 – 10:00 Registration

10:00 – 10:15 Opening

N.N. (Representative of St Andrews)

Alan Miller, University of St Andrews

Michael H. Faber, Chair of AVICOM

Questions of Principle and Basics

Moderation: Janos Tari, Károli Gaspár University Budapest, Hungary / Ex Chair of AVICOM

10:15 – 10:35 Gaoli Liu, National Ainu Museum, Shiraoi Hokkaido, Japan:

Exploring the Advantages and Challenges of Virtual Museums: A Case Study of the National Ainu Museum

10:35 – 10:55 ONLINE: Kathryn Nellis Medill-Torres, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, Denver Colorado, USA:

An Anecdotal Review of the Guiding Questions for AVICOM’s General Assembly Conference 2023

10:55 – 11:55 WORKSHOP: Alan Miller, Kamila Oles, Open Virtual Worlds Research Group, School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews, Scotland, U.K.; Julia Römhild, Bernd Günter, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Heinrich-Heine- Universität Düsseldorf, Germany:

Under Construction: Defining Virtual Museums in the context of Sustainablility

Methodical Approaches

Moderation: Michael H. Faber, Chair of AVICOM, Germany

11:55 – 12:15 Simina Badica, House of European History, Brussels, Belgium:

How to create a virtual European History experience?

12:15 – 12:30 Discussion

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch (Self-paying)

14:00 – 14:20 Can Chen, Bournemouth University, Poole, U.K.:

Media Arts in Narrative-style Exhibition : Curatorial Approaches in China

14:20 – 14:40 Rasa Bočyté, Max Tiel, Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision, Hilversum, The Netherlands; Arno Verhofstadt, Wendy Van den Broeck, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium:

Remotely Together: The Virtues and Limitations of Social XR in the Cultural Heritage Sector

Attracting Visitors, Barrier Reduction and Sustainability

Moderation: Anna-Maria Marras, Dipartimento di Studi Storici, Universitá di Torino, Italy

14:40 – 15:00 Hazem Mohammed Farrag, Tourist Guidance & Heritage Management, Faculty of Arts, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt:

Exploring the Perspectives and Expectations of Egyptian Tour Guides on the Incorporation of Virtual Museum Tours in Tourism Activities: Implications for Enhanced Tourist Engagement

15:00 – 15:20 Rema Zeynalova, Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, Baku, Azerbaijan:

Breaking boundries at the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum: Virtual Museum as a tool for increasing accessibility

15:20 – 15:40 Funda Yüksel Özer, Mersin Arkkeoloji Müzesi, Yenişehir Mersin, Turkey:

New Approach to Virtual Museum

15:40 – 16:00 Julia Römhild, Bernd Günter, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Germany:

Unveiling the Potential: Virtual Museums for Sustainable Development

16:00 – 16:30 Break

16:30 – 16:50 Kamila Oles, Alan Miller, Open Virtual Worlds Research Group, School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews, Scotland, U.K.:

Promoting Sustainable Development with Emergent Immersive and Mobile Technologies

16:50 – 17:00 Discussion

Practical Examples / Case Studies

Moderation: N.N.

17:00 – 17:20 Eva Schubert, Museum With No Frontiers (MWNF), Vienna, Austria

The transnational Museum With No Frontiers programme – online collections, exhibitions, galleries, tours – and hosting the largest online resource dedicated to the artistic legacy of Islam

17:20 – 17:40 Mohamed Ismail Ibrahim, Faculty of Archaeology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt:

Building a Virtual Museum within a Museum: The Zafaran Museum as an Example

17:40 – 18:00 Lara Corona, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

Virtual museums: a threat for ‘real museums’ or an additional value to them?

18:00 – 18:15 Discussion

19:00 Meeting in a traditional Pub (precise location details to be communicated later)

 

Saturday September 23: Sustainable Preservation and Promotion of Heritage: The Virtual Museum. General Assembly and Conference Part 2

Parliament Hall of the University of St Andrews, 66 South St, St Andrews

Practical Examples / Case Studies

Moderation: Aleš Kapsa, Jan Amos Komenský Museum, Uherský Brod, Czech Republic

9:30 – 9:50 Muhammad Zubair Rabbani, Bahawalpur Museum, Bahawalpur, Pakistan:

Virtual Museums: A Gateway to Cultural Exploration

9:50 – 10:00 Yuqiao Hu, School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester, U.K.:

Empowering Small Museums in Creating Virtual Museums on Social Media Platforms – A Case Study of Longxi County Museum, China

10:10 – 10:30 Nina Pearlman, Andy-Hudson Smith, Valerio Signorelli, Leah Lovett, Jason McEwan, UCL Museums, UCL, London, U.K.:

Bridging Worlds: Novel panoramic capture and virtual navigation of exhibition spaces at UCL

10:30 – 10:50 Kaji Appolinaire, Musée La Blacktude, Yaoundé, Cameroon:

Virtual exhibition on traditional African musical instruments: Issues and audiences

10:50 – 11:00 Kamila Oles, Alan Miller, Open Virtual Worlds Research Group, School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews, Scotland, U.K.:

Climate Change and the Virtual Museum

11:00-11:10 Kamila Oles, Alan Miller, Open Virtual Worlds Research Group, School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews, Scotland, U.K.:

The digital curation of open-air museum Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) mobile apps

11:10 – 11:20 Discussion

11:20 – 11:35 Short Coffee Break („1 coffee“)

11:35 – 12:00 ONLINE: Nicolle Manuelle Bahia Bittencourt, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies

Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan:

From physical to virtual: Information and Communication Technologies Strategies adopted by the National Museum of Brazil and Shurijo Castle in Japan after a destructive fire

Discussion

12:00 – 12:15 Michael H. Faber, Chair of AVICOM

Conclusions. Results of the Conference

12:15 – 12:45 General Assembly of AVICOM (for AVICOM members only)

12:45 – 14:00 Lunch (Self-paying)

14:00 – 15:30 Faimp Award Ceremony

15:40 Assembling at the designated bus for the trip to Dundee (specific location details to follow).

16:15 – 18:00 Guided exploration of Discovery Point and RRS Discovery in Dundee, located along Riverside Drive.

19:00 Conference Dinner with Reception of the Faimp Winners at Discovery Point, Dundee

(Self-paying by participants; Winners: free)

(Meeting point will be announced later.)

 

Sunday Sept 24 Departure Day

10:00 Gathering at the School of Computer Science, University of St. Andrews, situated within the Jack Cole Building on North Haugh, St. Andrews. Luggage storage is available at this location, in room no 0.37. Refreshments, including coffee and tea, are provided.

Invitation to our General Assembly 2023

Dear AVICOM members,

I hereby invite you to this year’s General Assembly on Saturday 23 September, 12:15 (GMT)

Parliament Hall of the University of St Andrews, 66 South St, St Andrews.

The AGM will be held hybrid.

Agenda:

1. Welcome by the President

2. Financial report

3. Discharge of the Executive Committee

4. Duties and obligations of the Executive Board members

5. Activities / programme of AVICOM 2024

6. Miscellaneous: proposals can be submitted in writing until 10 September 2023.

If you would like to participate online, please let me know by 10 September 2023.

Paris, 14th August 2023

Dr. Michael H. Faber

President of AVICOM

Museums, Virtual Reality and Sustainability in the Climate Emergency: Online Workshop 13th September 2023

Photo License: Takver from Australia, https://www.flickr.com/people/81043308@N00, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Climate_Emergency_-_PeoplesClimate-Melb-IMG_8280_(15121150847).jpg

The Climate Emergency represents an existential threat to culture and heritage. Yet museums can use VR to help mobilise climate action. The AVICOM General Assembly 2023 pre-conference meeting in St Andrews proudly presents an innovative and timely online panel, focusing on the intersection of climate change, heritage preservation, and the vast potential of virtual museums.

The workshop will draw upon experience of climate scientists, aid workers, museum practitioners and communities to understand how best we can mobilise climate action to address the climate emergency.

Topics to be addressed include:

  • Using citizen science to monitor the impacts of climate change.
  • How digitisation can contribute to preservation and adaptation to climate change.
  • How does climate threaten our heritage?
  • Imagining potential climate futures.
  • Digital strategies for mitigating climate change
  • Using immersive and mobile technologies to promote understanding fo climate threats and solutions.

If you would like to contribute to the workshop please email Dr Alan Miller ahr1@st-andrews.ac.uk or Dr. Michael H. Faber Dr.M.Faber@t-online.de

If you would like to participate in the workshop (13th September 2023, 2 pm CET) please reserve a ticket through eventbrite.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/museums-virtual-reality-and-sustainability-in-the-climate-emergency-tickets-684726755157?aff=oddtdtcreator