About the Data to Power research project
Is cultural diplomacy possible in the times of the global 'digital lock-down;? To what extent can cultural institutions turn to their digital resources, collections, exhibitions or distant programmes to compensate for the loss of physical interactions and social influence? Are cultural actors well prepared to face digital challenges, including fake news, propaganda, algorithmic censorship, and data surveillance? The project aims to answer these questions by cross-pollinating academic knowledge and professional expertise of cultural practitioners and policy makers. It will scope, survey, identify, analyse and apply key digital tools to re-vitalise and re-enable GLAM institutions to successfully implement international cultural exchanges and programmes in the current context. The research will explore novel ways to enhance, activate and globally communicate the value of cultural assets and heritage collections in the global media environment. The outcomes will inform GLAM experts to harness the power of digital technologies. They will help to develop new plans for cultural engagement as well as equip GLAM institutions to cope with digital threats.
BA(Hons) Arts Management Programme Leader Dr Natalia Grincheva is the project's lead investigator.
Webinar: Urban Data Infrastructures and Digital Place-making
Date: 30 May 2022
Time: 3:00pm – 5:00pm SGT
Keynote: Professor Tim Winter, 'The Digital Silk Road and Geocultural Diplomacy'
The webinar will discuss the concept of digital soft power from the perspective of digital place-making, urban diplomacy and city branding. Interrogating phenomena such as digital tourism, digital cultural heritage and its virtual cultural consumption, it will investigate the role of digital representations, narratives and images constructed by GLAM institutions in the development and circulation of urban identities in the global media spaces.
Register here.
Datathon: Forecasting local impacts of travelling exhibitions
Date: 1 June 2022
Time: 3:00pm – 5:00pm SGT
Keynote: Paul Owens, Founder of the World Cities Culture Forum, London
The Datathon will discuss challenges and opportunities of urban cultural infrastructure mapping as well as its value and implications for designing touring exhibitions and predicting their local engagement power. It will present the Local Engagement Layer of the Data To Power prototype, designed by aggregating and mapping data generated by travelling exhibitions toured around the world by the Science Museum Group in London and Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne.
Register here.
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