#191 - Spin, twist, turn, flip
Hello
This week we have more people trying to figure out what the heck's going on, skills, and a cautionary tale everyone should pay attention to.
Roland 808303.studio is "a new online music creation platform created by Yuri Suzuki and Roland". If you've ever fancied messing about with a TR-808 drum machine and TB-303 bass synthesiser then here's your chance.
Contemplating the current predicament
Arts Organizations’ Early Response to COVID-19 Uncertainty: Insights from the Field. "Reflecting the perspectives of over 160 not-for-profit arts leaders on the implications of COVID-19 for the sector". There's some interesting digital stuff in here.
The OAE – What is the Value of Digital Art? "From live-streamed concerts to theatre, we have had lots of options for free, digital art during the pandemic, but what about the future?"
Cultural sector+digital: After the storm. From Ash Mann: "I asked a few questions and suggested some priorities for the cultural sector in relation to digital activity".
Digital Darkroom is a new artist development programme from China Plate Theatre that aims to "inspire artists and producers working on studio to mid-scale productions to think creatively about what ‘digital content’ is, what their digital impact could be and what is possible at this scale of work".
Skills
DASH report: learning from the first UK-wide digital in heritage survey. It stands for Digital Attitudes and Skills for Heritage and pulled in "responses from 4,120 staff, trustees and volunteers working at 281 heritage organisations across the UK".
Why digitally literate leadership is so important right now. "In summer 2020 the Europeana Foundation commissioned Culture24 to research the digital transformation agenda in galleries, libraries, archives and museums internationally and the final strategic report is now published".
Is the creative industry equipped to work with emerging technologies? "What became increasingly clear in our survey is a skills gap. A want and need to learn more about emerging technologies is there, but creative companies lean on specialist outsources rather than investing in developing these skills in-house". Sounds familiar.
Miscellaneous
InstaPhish: Do you crave that blue tick? "On Friday 9 October, the Fitzwilliam Museum unfortunately fell prey to a simple phishing technique that caused the loss of their Instagram account". Pretty sure they're not the only ones. Please be careful.
Orleans House Gallery was one of the partners on Twickenham Luminaries, with five places collaborating on a week of online lectures. Rachel Morrison at English Heritage has some numbers: "5 zoom sessions hosted, over 1300 people attended, £3000 raised from an optional small donation entrance fee, five world class lectures edited and a week of celebration of heritage". I've been waiting for ages for someone to try this model.
Introducing the 2020 UX Designers to Watch. Congrats to Becky Colley, UX Lead at the Barbican, for being recognised by Adobe.
I Saw The World End. "Created by contemporary artist Es Devlin, working in collaboration with her long-term studio colleague Machiko Weston, this digital artwork has been specially commissioned by IWM".
Carolyn Royston of Cooper Hewitt | the digital experience is key. An in-depth profile of the Cooper Hewitt's CXO.
In the Round: Exploring Art with 3-D and 360 Technologies. Nicely presented from The Art Institute of Chicago: "Our new digital initiatives let you spin, twist, turn, flip, and zoom in close to view artworks like you’ve never seen them before".
Digital Jobs
There are digital-related jobs going at the Royal Society for Arts and the Natural History Museum.
Thanks! Please pass this on to others and/or generally share the goodness around.
Chris Unitt
Coach. Digital training for culture pros. Upcoming sessions include Facebook Ads, Better Online Content, and Choosing Digital KPIs.