Digital meets Culture

European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation

Report on a European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage

Last May 2022 a new report was published by the European Commission to lay the groundwork for the preparation of the Cluster 2 WP Calls to support the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage.
This aims to be a Collaborative Cloud in the domain of cultural heritage, for storing, accessing, using and documenting digital twins, for supporting the activities of the digital continuum and for connecting all actors in the digital ecosystem.

The report was prepared by independent European experts representing the diversity of the current cultural heritage experts and it is divided into three Parts:

General motivations: it sets the ground for the preparation of the Cloud, it provides the necessary definitions and key considerations, it describes the general landscape of EC programs, infrastructures and platforms. It presents the relevant scientific and technological trends and pre-establishes assessment and sustainability criteria.
Current status of the cultural heritage domain: it presents the current status of the Cultural heritage domain from the perspective of data, requirements and the potential uses.
Implementation plan for the Cloud: it provides guidelines for the implementation of the Cloud (its architecture, implementation of tools and services as well as governance, business model and sustainability).

Designing a European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage will be crucial for the present and future needs of all involved stakeholders. The Cloud will foster initiatives from all corners of Europe, connecting experiences, sharing activities, promoting a European perspective of Cultural heritage, and cultivating the need for the digital shift in many Cultural heritage institutions across Europe.

Access the full report here.

Source: European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Brunet, P., De Luca, L., Hyvönen, E., et al., Report on a European collaborative cloud for cultural heritage: ex – ante impact assessment, Publications Office, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/64014

INCULTUM Pilot in Garfagnana inaugurates summer with theatrical play 'Un prete, due Santi, un confine e 4000 pezzi unici'

A performance to tell the stories of the village of San Pellegrino in Alpe (Tuscany)

One of the Pilots of the INCULTUM project, aiming and empowering sustainable cultural tourism in peripheral areas with communities engagement, is coordinated by the University of Pisa and is set in the beautiful landscape of the Garfagnana in Tuscany. Crowned by a beautiful landscape, the small village of San Pellegrino in Alpe offers a varied touristic and cultural offer, including a small but very nice Ethnographic Museum.

On 3rd July 2022, in presence of local authorities and a nice audience, the inaugural event took place for a series of performances that aim to relive the memory of this community and its territory through a storytelling approach, realized in collaboration with the local Ethnographic Museum. The play is entitled “Un prete, due Santi, un confine e 4000 pezzi unici” (a priest, two saints, a border and 4000 unique pieces) by actress Elisabetta Salvatori, and will tell the stories of old traditions in this heritage territory.

[Show as slideshow]

The scope of this action is to reconnect the touristic offer of the location, that is mostly appreciated for the landscape and the possibilities of sports and trekking, with the peculiar aspects of the cultural and historic heritage of the community, that is well documented in the Ethnographic Museum. The storytelling approach, unfolding in a series of performances, is exaclty intended to engage tourists passing in the area.

Preview: 3rd July
Shows: 4, 31 July, 1, 14, 21, 28 August

Discover the INCULTUM Pilot set in Garfagnana: https://incultum.eu/pilots/5-garfagnana/

the project was presented at the CitizenHeritage multiplier event organized by partner Photoconsortium

WEAVE in Pisa: project meeting and dissemination

On the occasion of the CitizenHeritage conference “The role of photographic heritage in empowering communities’ participation in cultural heritage” organized by Photoconsortium, a number of WEAVE partners convened in Pisa for two intense days.

On the first day, a partners meeting was oganized in hybrid format, to discuss about the next activities of the project, particularly presenting the upcoming editorials to be published in Europeana and the sustainability strand of action for the project.

The next day, WEAVE and particularly the work done by TopFoto together with ERIAC to co-curate a beautiful collection of heritage photographs depicting Roma heritage and community was presented by John Balean during the panel session entitled “Leveraging photographic heritage to support community engagement and virtual reappropriation of heritage“.

Download John’s presentation (PDF)

organized by associate partner Photoconsortium in the project Citizen Heritage, an international conference about communities' participation in heritage was a good set to promote the research from INCULTUM project

INCULTUM in Pisa: project’s dissemination

On 28 June in Pisa, INCULTUM was part of the CitizenHeritage conference “The role of photographic heritage in empowering communities’ participation in cultural heritage” organized by Photoconsortium in colaboration with the Museo della Grafica of University of Pisa. The conference was dedicated on engaging communities with (photographic) cultural heritage, but the overall theme was relevant also in the light of INCULTUM research.

[Show as slideshow]

Various posters of INCULTUM were displayed in the conference venue and the project was briefly mentioned by Antonella Fresa during her introductory talk to the panel session entitled “Leveraging photographic heritage to support community engagement and virtual reappropriation of heritage“.

Museo della Carta in Pescia (Italy), 25 June - 3 September 2022

LIBEReFORME – exhibition of artistic books

LIBEReFORME
Libri d’artista al Museo della Carta di Pescia

This exhibition showcases 18 rare and artistic books from various Italian artists: Marco Bagnoli, Stefania Balocco, Gianluigi Balsebre, Paola Carrara, Sonia Costantini, Fabio Cresci, Andrea Granchi, Riccardo Guarneri, Francesco Landucci, Gianni Lillo, Lucia Marcucci, Paolo Masi, Remo Salvadori, Elisabetta Scarpini, Marcello Scarselli, Alessandro Secci, Vittorio Tolu, Giorgio Ulivi.

The exhibition explores the concept of the book as an art form, that changes the original function of the object as a support for written documents into a tool for creativity and artistic communication. As the finissage of the exhibition on 3rd September, a paper art workshop will take place together with one of the artists.

The Museo della Carta hosts this exhibition in the light of its institutional mission that focuses not only on the preservation of paper artifacts and traditions but also on promoting new art forms that are based on paper manufacturing.

More information: https://museodellacarta.org/museo/eventi

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Italian Language:
Sabato 25 giugno alle ore 10.00 inaugura al pubblico la mostra LIBEReFORME. Libri d’artista al Museo della Carta di Pescia organizzata in collaborazione con l’associazione culturale per le arti contemporanee Sincresis di Empoli con la curatela di Massimiliano Bini e Alessandra Scappini.

Le 18 opere in mostra, a vario modo connesse al tema carta e allestite negli spazi dell’Archivio Storico Magnani del Museo della Carta, sono legate al progetto promosso da Sincresis 100×100 Libri d’artista nato per la promozione e la valorizzazione del libro d’artista come creazione, frutto di un’esperienza unica. Il libro diviene esso stesso opera d’arte, o in quanto oggetto, o in quanto contenuto. Esso infatti “scardina” la funzione propria del libro, oltre che la sua forma, divenendo uno strumento di comunicazione artistica. Sono presenti le opere di: Marco Bagnoli, Stefania Balocco, Gianluigi Balsebre, Paola Carrara, Sonia Costantini, Fabio Cresci, Andrea Granchi, Riccardo Guarneri, Francesco Landucci, Gianni Lillo, Lucia Marcucci, Paolo Masi, Remo Salvadori, Elisabetta Scarpini, Marcello Scarselli, Alessandro Secci, Vittorio Tolu, Giorgio Ulivi.

Il Museo della Carta di Pescia conferma il suo ruolo di istituzione volta non solo alla conservazione, alla tutela e alla promozione delle sue collezioni storiche ma anche all’attualizzazione della secolare tradizione cartaria grazie agli innovativi impulsi sempre offerti dall’arte contemporanea.

La mostra rimarrà visitabile gratuitamente dal 25 giugno al 3 settembre 2022 presso l’Archivio Storico Magnani di Pescia – Cartiera Le Carte, Via Mammianese Nord n. 229, Pietrabuona – Pescia con il seguente orario: lunedì, mercoledì e sabato dalle 10.00 alle 18.00.

Il 3 settembre per il finissage della mostra è previsto un workshop con l’artista durante il quale i partecipanti avranno la possibilità di prendere parte alla realizzazione di un libro d’artista.

Per maggiori informazioni: https://museodellacarta.org/museo/eventi

28 June - 1July 2022, Paris

inArt 2022: 5th International Conference on Innovation in Art Research and Technology

The fifth edition of the international conference inArt 2022 is underway!

The Conference on Innovation in Art Research and Technology will be held in Paris from Tuesday 28 June to Friday 1 July 2022 with the aim to gather professionals from all the disciplines concerned by the study and the preservation of cultural heritage materials.

The event will develop in three sessions each with a main theme and various sub-themes:

Comprehension of materials and techniques involved in Cultural Heritage
– Identification approaches
– Circulation of materials and manufacturing techniques
– Dating and chronological approaches
Degradation mechanisms and conservation strategies
– Characterisation of degradation products
– Impact of the environment on the degradation or protection of the objects
– Experimental aging simulation and modelling
– Diagnosis of conservation states, documentation of objects (including numerical approaches)
– Cleaning, stabilisation and protection
Technological developments and data analysis
– In situ experiments and mobile instrumentation
– Imaging techniques
– Coupling of analytical methods and data fusion

Further information:

Organizing Committee:
Ludovic BELLOT-GURLET, MONARIS, Sorbonne Université / CNRS
Delphine NEFF, LAPA, IRAMAT/NIMBE, CEA / CNRS
Anne-Solenn LE HÔ, C2RMF, Ministère de la Culture, IRCP, PSL / CNRS
Céline PARIS, MONARIS, Sorbonne Université / CNRS
Laurianne ROBINET, CRC, MNHN / CNRS / Ministère de la Culture
Aurélie TOURNIÉ, CRC, MNHN / CNRS / Ministère de la Culture

More detailed information and the programme are available on the website of the conference.

RURALIZATION is a EU-funded project aiming at developing forward-looking policies fulfilling the ‘future dreams’ of new rural generations

RURALIZATION and INCULTUM establish collaboration

Dreaming of an escape to the country? Rural living in Europe is currently on the decline, but why? What tools and dynamic approaches are needed in rural areas to stimulate innovation and create opportunities for newcomers and established communities alike?

The EU–funded RURALISATION project has identified a series of ‘innovation stories’ to better understand the problems associated with rural living, the importance of sustainable and inclusive farming practices, and how new thinking (dream scenarios, foresight activities) can help to transform rural communities.

The ultimate aim? To open up ‘rural areas to renew rural generations, jobs and farms’.

On current trends, urban regions are expected to grow by some 12% between 2014 and 2050, while rural areas could see a 7% decline. In response, so–called ‘generational renewal’ is one of the nine proposed objectives of the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and is also one of the main concerns of many Member States.

RURALISATION is working on a series of actions to support this objective with ambitious new approaches and clear options for policymakers in different contexts. These are backed by novel research methods and practical tools to create what the project calls a ‘new rural frontier offering new generations stimulating opportunities for economic and social sustainability within a rural context’.

INCULTUM and RURALIZATION projects have in common this important focus on empowering marginal and rural areas with participative approaches and policies that enable communities-driven sustainable development. For this reason the newly established collaboration will lead to synergies and cross-dissemination and reuse of outcomes and initiatives.

Deadline: July 20, 2022

Call for applications: youth, mental healt and culture

What role can the cultural and creative sectors play in improving the mental health of young people?

This is the topic of the new call for applications launched by Voices of Culture, the “platform for dialogue between the cultural sector in the European Union and the European Commission”.

Through this call, Voices of Culture intends to generate project ideas and policy recommendations for the cultural and creative sectors and decision makers.

The purpose of the call is to engage with experts on the topic of understanding the potential contribution of the cultural and creative sectors to the mental health of young people.

This topic is taking place in the context of the European Year of Youth 2022.

Selected applicants will be invited to a brainstorming meeting to take place in October 2022 in Brussels as well as to a dialogue meeting at the Goethe-Institut in Brussels in December to share their input.

All the information necessary to participate in the call is available on the dedicated page: https://voicesofculture.eu/2022/06/17/call-for-applications-the-role-of-cultural-and-creactive-sectors-in-improving-mental-health-of-the-youth/

Deadline for submissions: 15 September 2022

Call for nomination: 7 Most Endangered Programme 2023

Europa Nostra, the European Voice of Civil Society committed to Cultural and Natural Heritage, in partnership with the European Investment Bank Institute (EIB) and the support of the Creative Europe programme, has launched the call for the “7 Most Endangered Programme 2023“, the civil society campaign to save Europe’s endangered heritage.

The campaign aims to rally support to save selected endangered sites by raising awareness, making independent expert assessments and proposing recommendations for action.

In addition to this it offers direct support: includes the possibility for the 7 selected sites to receive an EIB Heritage Grant of up to 10.000 euros to start the implementation of actions, studies or assistance measures for the threatened site.

The call for nomination will be open until 15 September 2022 and it is available at https://www.europanostra.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/7ME2023-Call-for-Nominations.pdf

All nominations will be examined by an international advisory panel, comprising specialists in history, archaeology, architecture, conservation, management and finance.

The monuments and sites are selected taking into account the following criteria:

Heritage and cultural value of the site
Imminent danger the site is facing
The engagement of local communities and the commitment of public and private stakeholders to saving the site
The potential of the site to act as a catalyst for a sustainable socio-economic development of the area.

The final list of 7 most threatened heritage sites in Europe is selected by the Board of Europa Nostra and will be announced in March/April 2023.

For online submissions: www.7mostendangered.eu

17-19 June 2022

The European Archaeology Days to promote Europe’s archaeological heritage

From https://journees-archeologie.fr/

The European Archaeology Days (JEA) take place every year on the third weekend of June in all member countries of the Council of Europe with the aim of encouraging public authorities and archaeology stakeholders to promote archaeological heritage.

JEA 2022 will be held June 17-19 across Europe coordinated by the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) under the aegis of the French Ministry of Culture.

The main objectives of the JEA are to:

raise awareness among European citizens of the richness and cultural diversity of Europe;
make archaeology more visible to different audiences and the media;
make the general public and the political authorities aware of the need to protect archaeological heritage;
to enable the public to grasp the mosaic of Europe’s cultures;
attract new audiences who are not accustomed to visiting the places where archaeology is carried out;
promote to the public the entire archaeology operating chain, “from dig to museum”;
promote the sharing of knowledge between archaeology professionals and European citizens.

During the 3 days, events will be organized to involve families, schools, students, history enthusiasts and let them discover their archaeological heritage. It will be possible to participate in visits to places not normally open to the public (excavation sites, research centers, archaeological collections…), in meetings with archaeological professionals, as well as participate in a series of activities fun and educational (introduction to excavations, demonstrations, workshops, …).

The European Archaeology Days are based on a digital platform, journees-archeologie.fr, bringing to the attention of the public the multiplicity and diversity of heritage and initiatives relating to archaeology in Europe. On the platform it is possible to know and research all the planned initiatives.

Visit the platform and discover the activities near you!