Museums and the Web

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Rhizomatic Art Stories - Balancing between Innovation and Usability

Annette Rosenvold Hvidt and Merete Sanderhoff, SMK National Gallery of Denmark, Denmark

http://www.smk.dk/kunsthistorier

Abstract

In 2008 SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark, initiated a 5-year digital strategy. A core project of this strategy is Art Stories: an innovative online resource that offers stories and background material about artworks, artists and how they connect. The ambition is to make art history come alive on the Web, utilizing the possibilities offered by digital media. Art Stories was developed over a three-year period in a highly iterative process. Our vision has been to create an 'art history on the terms of the Web' which implies structuring the content in a complex, 'rhizomatic' way. We have repeatedly invited users to discuss and test the concept, hoping to ensure an engaging and intuitively navigable online art experience. This paper goes through the process of developing the site in dialogue with users – but also sometimes against their immediate demands and expectations.

Keywords: Art history, persuasive design, usability, iterative process, lessons learned

Event-driven Access to Heterogeneous Distributed Museum Collections

Keywords: 
art history
Keywords: 
access
Keywords: 
browsing
Keywords: 
resource discovery
Keywords: 
events
Keywords: 
data integration
Abstract: 

This demonstration is the first prototype of the event-driven collection browsing platform that is being developed within the Agora project. In this demo, we show how museum collections can be accessed by users based on historical events.

Type: 
Demonstration - show your project

Rhizomatic Art Stories – balancing between innovation and usability

Keywords: 
online resources
Keywords: 
rhizome
Keywords: 
serendipity
Keywords: 
syndication
Keywords: 
usability
Keywords: 
art history
Abstract: 

In 2008 SMK National Gallery of Denmark initiated a 5 year digital strategy. A core initiative is Art Stories: an innovative online resource that offers exciting stories and background material about artworks, artists and how they connect. The ambition is to retell the story of art and make it come alive on the web, exploiting the possibilities offered by digital media.

Type: 
Paper - in formal session