Digital meets Culture

A videogame to discover Bologna and its museums

Call for application! “Bologna si mette in gioco. Playable Bologna”

The public contest “Bologna si mette in gioco- Playable Bologna” is open for applications up to November 27th 2018. Applicants shall develop a videogame aimed at highlighting the historical, artistic and cultural heritage of Bologna taking off from some ideas for narration offered by the museums Museo Civico Medievale and Museo di Palazzo Poggi.
The contest is open to both professionals and companies having registered office and based in any EU member state.
The contest is co-funded by the Bologna municipality and by the Horizon 2020 EU research and innovation programme (contract no. 730280) via the Rock project (ROCK stands for Regeneration and Optimisation of Cultural heritage in creative and Knowledge cities), whose aim is to support regeneration of old city centres through cultural heritage as a driver for sustainable development and economic growth.
The overall amount of funding is euro 32.786,88

The deadline for applications is November 27, 2018

Participants shall deliver a running videogame, ready for on-line play no later than December 31, 2019
You can find the contest notice with all regulations and information on the MEPA, the Public Administration E-market (Reference document n. 2087305)
Click HERE to download the Request for Applications (RFA) in pdf format
Click HERE to download Annex 1 Technical specifications and contract conditions
Click HERE to download Annex 2 Materials from the museum collections, to be used as narration materials
For further info write to incredibol@comune.bologna.it

www.incredibol.net

Outcomes of the meeting held the 9th October 2018 in Hodász, Hungary

REACH project local encounter: Preservation, re-use and management of Roma cultural heritage

The REACH local encounter was hosted by the Roma Country House in Hodász, founded in 2001, which is the first similar institution in Hungary. The country house, located in an extremely deprived sub-region in North-Eastern Hungary is not only undertaking an eminent role in preserving the Roma traditions but also in local community-building and in ensuring diverse artistic and professional activities to the children and teenagers of the village.
The event stared with the visit of the different buildings of the Country House, including:
– the small cob house that presents the living conditions of a relatively wealthier Gipsy family with traditional furniture and home utensils
– a shabby house dig into the ground that represents the living state of the 1930’s
– the building of so-called ‘string-kindergarten’ (named after the strings that had been stretched around the Gipsy slum) was founded in 1970 by Lina Rézműves, mother of Melinda Rézműves, the owner and manager of the Romy county house
– a new community building, representing the housing conditions of the 1970’s, which aims to be a tea house / community center for the local youth
– Atelier and Guest house, comprehending also a nursery room and a conference room.
After the lunch, the participants introduced themselves and their institutions and even though they came from very different professional and geographic background, a few key words and central notions appeared commonly in their discourses: in some way, all of their initiatives have been concerned with the preservation of local values, the reach-out and the involvement of the community and the eagerness to find innovative ways to remain sustainable. The introduction was followed by a very fruitful and interesting discussion during which the various aspects of sustainability and the possibilities to create more visibility for marginalized cultural heritage sites have been emphasized. The presence of the creative/cultural industry (represented by the director of Arts for Rural Development Foundation and the manager of Pro Progressione) very much enabled the recognition of new perspectives and suggestions regarding the creation of rural festivals introducing Roma culture or the nomination of the Hodász Country House to the European Roma Cultural Routes.
The encounter facilitated the eventual cooperation of Roma cultural institutions, experts in social design and social architecture and cultural managers.

Host: Melinda Rézműves, director of the Roma Country House in Hodász

Participants of the REACH project, organizers: Eszter György and Gábor Oláh (Eötvös Loránd University, Atelier Department for European Historiography and Social Sciences)

Participants:
István Gábor Molnár, president of Roma Minority Self-Government, Újpest; founder and director of Roma Local History Collection, Újpest
Éva Váradi, member, Roma Local History Collection, Újpest
Fanny Hajdú, production manager, Pro Progressione
Balázs Váradi, architect
Balázs Juhász, architect
Rita Szerencsés, project manager, MOME EcoLab
Natália Oszkó-Jakab, director, Valley of Arts Festival and Arts for Rural Development Foundation

Natália Jakab, vice-director, instructor, Gandhi High School
Sándor Tisza, director, Traditional wooden park, Csongrád
Nikoletta Orbán, technical manager, Roma Country House in Hodász
Patrik Mravik, PhD programme, Eötvös Loránd University, Atelier Department for European Historiography and Social Sciences

Other information

Abu Dhabi (UAE), 30 September - 2 October 2019

Heritage Middle East: securing the future for the past

Heritage Middle East is the new fair dedicated to museum and exhibitions technologies, and is planned to be a meeting point for institutions and companies which lead the museology sector around the world,

It will bring fresh blood to the sector by organizing side events such as conferences etc. where leading museologists, museum designers, architects art historians, conservators and other art professionals come together,

It is planned to be a destination where all artistic and cultural activities of Arabic world are planned and the future projects are discussed, becoming an international meeting point which aims to be the market for the actors of global museology sector and where they join different activities together.

It is expected to be an international landmark event that plans to host more 100 companies and institutions, and around 3.000 visitors.

Website: http://www.expoheritage.com/heritagemiddleeast/index-eng.html

Dates: 15 September – 31 October 2018

Call of Interest for Role Models launched by RURITAGE Project

RURITAGE (Rural regeneration through systemic heritage-led strategies) is a four-year EU-funded project under the Horizon 2020 programme. Started in June 2018, RURITAGE aims at transforming rural areas in sustainable development demonstration ‘laboratories’, through the enhancement of their unique Cultural and Natural Heritage potential.
In particular RURITAGE will:
– Increase knowledge about successful practices of heritage-led rural regeneration and provide tools making successful practices and solutions available and replicable.
– Identify the financial resources needed to preserve cultural heritage in rural areas, and promote the engagement of rural communities in the decision-making processes
– Enhance awareness on exploitation possibilities in Cultural and Natural Heritage sector in rural areas, providing roadmaps for the long-term sustainability of heritage-led regeneration strategies.
To do so, at first RURITAGE involved in the project 13 successful cases (Role Models) in much diversified contexts and is now in the process of analysing their good practices. To build a larger evidence base and a highly transferable approach, RURITAGE launches this call for interest for additional Role Models beyond the 13 already involved in the project.
Additional Role Models selected following this call will have the great opportunity to see their good practices promoted by RURITAGE and to share their experiences with the other Role Models and knowledge experts enabling the subsequent enhancement of the good practice in their own rural territory.
Link to RURITAGE project webpage: https://en.unesco.org/ruritage
Link to https://en.unesco.org/ruritage/call-role-model

Brussels (Belgium), 15-16 November 2018

The Fair of European Innovators in Cultural Heritage

The Fair is a wonderful occasion to see how the EU is promoting research & innovation in cultural heritage, fostering creativity and new connections across countries. The event will build on the results of the ‘Heritage and Innovation‘ conference and will focus on the next steps and contributions to the EU Action Plan on Cultural Heritage.

We will showcase the latest innovations in cultural heritage, discussing why they are developed and how they can benefit both the society and the market. We will promote stronger ties between R&I, policies and arts. Our aim is to contribute to an open cultural heritage innovation ecosystem in Europe and beyond.

Participants will have the opportunity to join the ‘Community of Innovators in Cultural Heritage‘ and its platform to engage with innovation providers, users and investors.

Essential questions are driving the event:

Who are the innovators and ‘change-makers’ in the cultural heritage domain?
What do they need in order to work better?
How to promote an open innovation ecosystem on cultural heritage?
Where is innovation produced?

We will discuss with researchers, innovation providers, policy makers, representatives from cultural institutions, start-ups and incubators, business companies, creatives, pioneers from technology and economics, European institutions representatives.

An exciting programme of plenary and breakout sessions all along the two-days, including inspirational talks, round tables, pitches from innovators, Horizon 2020 projects’ clustering and a B2B corner. We will launch the ‘Community of Innovators in Cultural Heritage’ and its platform. Artists will be performing during the event.

Participants will find an exhibition showcasing around 40 breakthrough innovations developed by EU funded R&I projects in the fields of tangible, intangible and digital cultural heritage. Innovations include advanced technologies, IT products, systems and services.

More information and Registration

Budapest, 6th October, 2018

REACH project at Budapest Ritmo Conference

The Budapest Ritmo Conference is the biggest world music forum in Central Europe, a unique opportunity for professionals to debate on trends and challenges, with a Central European focus.
In 2018, panels focused on:
– European music policies
– The UNESCO’s Music Cities initiative
– The music’s role in urban development
The conference was attended by the EU Commissioner for Culture Tibor Navracsics, several representatives of leading European music organizations like the European Music Council, the European Music Export Exchange Network and representatives of leading cities in the network, Katowice and Mannheim.
The event aimed at giving an opportunity to future European Capitals of Culture to present their plans and exchange views with experts in the field of world music.
A specific panel titled “The richest heritage, unclaimed – Roma musical tradition in the Carpathian Basin and its wider region “, was dedicated to investigate Who shall preserve the rich and diverse Roma heritage, the heritage of a people without a Country or a State and What can be done on international level.
Dr. Eszter György, from Eötvös Loránd University, contributed to enrich the debate introducing the REACH project and shared with the participants experiences and investigations carried on in the framework of the Minority Heritage pilot, focused on the promotion and support of the ROMA cultural heritage.
Conference sessions are held in English.
The venue of Budapest Ritmo Conference was Akvárium Klub, “Aranyhall”.
Link to the Conference Programme: http://budapestritmo.hu/en/ritmo-conference/

Thursday 4 October 2018, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm at Ars Electronica Center

Deep Space LIVE: ARS ELECTRONICA inspired by Bruegel

2019 marks the 450th anniversary of the death of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, the outstanding painter of the Dutch Renaissance. On the occasion of this anniversary, the Delegation of Flanders, the Art History Museum Vienna and Ars Electronica are showing impressive gigapixel images of his most famous works. In Deep Space 8K, the high-resolution images reveal a host of tiny details that remain hidden from the eye during normal viewing. The pictures presented for the first time by Geert Van der Snickt (AXES Research Group of University of Antwerp) and by Frederik Temmermans (IMEC and Free University of Brussels) will be expertly explained at this Deep Space LIVE. Also present are Professor Manfred Sellink, Curator of the Bruegel Exhibition and Director General of the Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, and Stefan Zeisler, Director of Visual Media at the Art History Museum Vienna.

Frederik Temmermans says “There are many little details in the Bruegel paintings that are nearly impossible to spot when looking at the paintings from a typical distance in a museum exhibition. On the Inside Bruegel website on the other hand, you can get so close that you can inspect these details till the level of individual paint strokes. For me, this shows how complementary the website is with visiting the exhibition. If I have to pick one example, I choose the castle in the The Gloomy Day. When you zoom in close, you can see so many little details such as the little windows and snow on the walls. These details are very hard to see in real with the naked eye.”

Read more comments by experts Geert Van der Snickt and Frederik Temmermans in this inteview: https://ars.electronica.art/aeblog/en/2018/10/01/deep-space-live-bruegel/

About the Event: https://ars.electronica.art/center/en/inspired-by-bruegel/

Bruegel’s works permanently expand the art-historical offer at Deep Space 8K and will also be on view on SAT October 6, 2018 as part of the Long Night of the Museums.

Kindly supported by the Delegation of Flanders and the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna

New ways to promote participatory approaches to culture.

AR Technology and Institutional heritage

A recent boom in augmented reality (AR) technology is leading educational institutions to explore new ways of teaching, where virtual scenes are mixed with real-life locations and objects. However, more research is needed in order to understand when and how AR can be leveraged to increase knowledge rather than merely entertain visitors.
In a new partnership between the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (which includes the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum) and University of Southern California, researchers will seek to understand how best to design augmented reality experiences for effective learning.
The project is funded by a new grant from the National Science Foundation totaling $2 million.
Emily Lindsey, assistant curator and excavation site director for the La Brea Tar Pits, and Benjamin Nye, the director of learning science at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies, are the principal investigators.
A key aspect of the project is to use AR to provide additional information about what visitors see to help dispel misconceptions. “Augmented reality offers a powerful medium to share how science happens at the La Brea Tar Pits,” Nye says. “AR can show hidden worlds connected to what you would normally see with your eyes, such as seeing the pits in different time periods. These can tell the story of not just what we know, but how we know what we know.”

“Certain scientific concepts, like the nature of geologic time, have historically been difficult for people to wrap their minds around,” Lindsey says. “This partnership allows us to explore the ways that new, immersive technologies can help people understand and connect with these concepts more fully.”

Source: https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-09/uosc-nhm091018.php

https://www.usc.edu/

a project co-funded by the EU in the framework of CEF Connecting Europe Facility programme

50s in Europe Kaleidoscope (2018-2020)

“50s in Europe Kaleidoscope” is a new project led by KU Leuven and including a mix of technology partners, universities and content providers. The aim of the project is to use state-of-the-art technologies to improve the user experience in engaging with digital cultural heritage. The targeted theme is ‘Europe in the 50s’, when citizens on both sides of the East-West divide started to rebuild their lives after the war. By showcasing their daily life, work, play and leisure – as well as austerity, stress, despair – in an interactive, user-driven way and contextualised in the political nascence of the EU, this project wants to appeal to Europeans today.

The kick-off took place on 20-21 September in Leuven hosted by the coordinator with participation of EC representatives and of Europeana. 50s in Europe Kaleidoscope is co-financed by the European Union in the frameowrk of CEF Connecting Europe Facility Programme.

Thematic focus: the 1950s in Europe.

The 1950s can be considered the foundation period of today’s Europe. Although recovering from the traumatic legacy of a recent, violent past, the transformation of Europe from a geographical expression to an integrated continent of peace and security was a distant dream. At the beginning of the decade some institutions (the OEEC and the Council of Europe) were already in place and, by the end of the decade, a framework for integration had been established with the Treaty of Rome. But Europe was divided – the formation of the Warsaw Pact in 1955 symbolising Cold War tensions. Coinciding with political repression, authoritarianism and the fear of nuclear annihilation, was a sense of increasing prosperity, welfarism and the development of democratic rights. The 1950s may be said, therefore, to be lodged in popular consciousness as a decade of diverse experiences across Europe – tradition balanced with innovation, and the old mixed with the new.

Technology at service of people.

The project offers innovative tools to engage citizens with digital heritage content. The thematic focus of 1950s in Europe is extensively documented by Europeana, the European digital library. Using pictures of people in the streets, men and women in the workplace, children playing, reconstruction works, changing cityscapes, freedom and repression, the project will compare the ‘feel’ of the fifties in the various European countries. The resulting stories will provide a stimulating environment for user engagement, open to multiple interpretations and to the inclusion of user-generated content.

Partners

KU Leuven – project coordinator
PHOTOCONSORTIUM – International Consortium for Photographic Heritage
Coventry University
CRDI – Ajuntament De Girona – Centre De Recerca I Difusió De La Imatge
NTUA – National Technical University of Athens
IMEC – Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum
SPK – Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz
KIK-IRPA – Koninklijk Instituut voor het Kunstpatrimonium – Institut royal du Patrimoine artistique
TOPFOTO – Topham Partners LLP
OSZK – National Széchényi Library of Hungary

Project Objectives:

– implement an intelligent visual similarity search that integrates and complements the Europeana Core Service functionality, applying state-of-the-art deep learning techniques on a training photo collection; afterwards, the trained models will be applied to predefined collections and queries and on real life scenes, to be matched with images from the collections.

– improve the end-user experience, supporting discovery and further use of the photographic content in Europeana, combining it with personal experience and user-generated material via demonstrator applications (web/mobile) and augmented reality services, for users and CH institutions.

– improve the Europeana database integrating back-end tools to allow users to manipulate photographic collections, then interacting with the source Europeana database to update the existing records with the crowdsourced annotation, contents and addenda.

– develop a community of users (culture lovers, educators&researchers, GLAM pros, creatives), for awareness-raising on Europeana content and its research, societal and even commercial potential, and for training/demonstration of reuse. A key component for this action will be an educational portal including a MOOC.

– yield data that are beneficial to support curation work, particularly in curating virtual exhibitions, thus answering a need identified during the creation of Europeana Photography Thematic Collection.

More info: http://www.photoconsortium.net/50s-in-europe-kaleidoscope/

Photo courtesy Topfoto.co.uk. In Copyright.

Pisa (Italy), 12th October 2018

Europeana Migration Collection Day – Pisa

Photoconsortium and KU Leuven, in collaboration with Europeana, the European digital library, in the framework of the Europeana Migration project, organized a Collection Day and photographic exhibition hosted by the Museo della Grafica in Pisa.
We all have objects, photographs and tales that tell stories of where we’ve come from and what’s shaped our lives.
As with other Collection Days, in Pisa an interview room with digitization station was set up: citizens and museum visitors were invited to share their stories about travels and migration, to share the common research of new horizons, accompained by objects like photographs, letters, postcards or recipes, which represent a bridge between their past and the presence.
During all day about 20 testimonials have been collected which will soon appear online at migration.europeana.eu.

photo by Rudy Pessina

In the late afternoon, the official opening of the photo exhibition “Thousands are Sailing” celebrated the Europeana Migration collection and marked a great day for photographic heritage and citizens participation.
20 portraits – some formal and posed, some casual or inconspicuously snapped – represent equally as many stories of people who once left their homeland to go settle abroad.
The exhibition includes images from important archives and museums from all over Europe. It will be on show until 11th November.

photo by Rudy Pessina

An apertif and good time concluded the evening in Pisa.
To conclude the initiative, on Sunday the 14th, in occasion of the “Families at Museums” national day, the Museo della Grafica arranged a special event dedicated to children and parents: a guided visit to the “Thousands are Sailing” exhibition and a creative laboratory were set up, giving to families the opportunity to participate and reflect upon what it means to “follow your dream”.
More on the 12th October: http://www.photoconsortium.net/happy-stories-from-pisa-collection-day-europeana-migration/
FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/238852503456635/
About Thousands are Sailing: http://www.photoconsortium.net/thousands-are-sailing-photograhic-exhibition-in-pisa-12-oct-11-nov-2018/