#171 - Bit of a mindbender
Cultural Digital
Hello
This week we have the usual mix of digital bits and bobs, with lots of clever people doing clever things around immersion, social, collections, and so on.
Sprayprinter: the graffiti robot startup that’s turning down millions. I really can't remember if I've mentioned this one before. Either way, it's a wall-scaling robot that "will paint a mural advert for $10,000 — but only if it's artistic".
One last shout for the survey on how cultural organisations value and measure digital impact. It's a really quick one and the results so far have been fascinating. It's really quick and I'm sure Kati and Dafydd would be super grateful (as would I).
Immersive
The good news: a broad audience exists for meaningful, creative virtual reality content. Reflections on a VR theatre pilot.
Virtual Venue is "an inquiry into how immersive technology can inform audience experience of classical music by augmenting the physical context in which it is performed, while opening up opportunities for new venues, physical and virtual".
Digital collections
Open data on images of museums and monuments: No to the looting of our heritage by Google - the CGT Culture. The big tech companies (and their motives) seems to be viewed a lot more critically on the continent than they are here in the UK.
Mapping Digitised Collections in England. A scoping report and the final report.
Ancient scrolls charred by Vesuvius could be read once again. "US scientists say it may be possible to decipher words using new x-ray technique".
Social
Royal Museums Greenwich's Space LIVES. Some good info in this Shorty Awards application blurb about what went into this Facebook Live series .
LSO YouTube influencer campaign. "How - and why - did we run a YouTube Influencer Marketing campaign for the London Symphony Orchestra?"
Miscellaneous
Cyprus Avenue on BBC Four - Royal Court. Listing a TV broadcast as a production in a what's on section. I don't think I've seen that before.
Wondering Who Did That Painting? There’s an App (or Two) for That. "With companies racing to develop Shazam for art, we see what instant-identification apps really add to your experience in museums and galleries".
Lyn Gardner: We must embrace digital to democratise theatre. A write-up of China Plate’s Digital Darkroom Creative Exchange, which brought together small to mid-sized theatre companies to talk about digital audiences, and making tech a "crucial artistic component".
Interaction Lab | Cooper Hewitt. "Designed to keep pace with emergent technology and untethered to any one location or platform, we’re bringing a holistic, interactive design methodology to the very heart of Cooper Hewitt’s visitor experience".
Library of Babel is a website based on the short story by Jorge Luis Borges. Bit of a mindbender, this one.
Jobs
There are digital-related jobs available at the Science Museum, Royal Institution, and more.
Thanks for reading. I'll try not to leave it so long til the next one.
Chris Unitt
Btw, for UK readers I should say I'm doing some training on behalf of a couple of organisations:
Arts Marketing Association: sessions on Google Analytics (London, 22 Nov) and Google Ads (webinar, 26 Nov)
London Museum Development: a workshop on Understanding Online Audiences (London, 7 Feb).