Visualisierung mit Kunstwerken aus der Sammlung des Belvedere © Fabian Schober
Visualisierung mit Kunstwerken aus der Sammlung des Belvedere © Fabian Schober
The Museum in a Digital World: Strategies – Methods – Tools

In September 2023, the Belvedere Research Center in Vienna and the Center for Image Science at the University for Continuing Education’s Department for Arts and Cultural Studies in Krems jointly host an international summer institute sponsored by the Getty Foundation in Los Angeles.

About the Program

“The Museum in a Digital World: Strategies – Methods – Tools” is a ten-day training program dedicated to the topics of digitization, digital collection management, and online presence of digitized collections to address their potentials and problems. How are museums facing the challenges and changes brought about by the all-encompassing arrival of the digital? How is the digital transformation affecting traditional museum strategies?

The Summer Institute, supported by the Getty Foundation, offers a unique combination of theoretical and practice-oriented lectures as well as workshops on these topics. The first part of the program (September 4-10, 2023) will take place at the University for Continuing Education in Krems, the second part (September 11-15, 2023) at the Belvedere in Vienna.

The focus is on strategies for digitizing museum collections and digital skills such as the scientific use of digital collections or their legal and financial aspects. Focus topics such as image data management, network analysis and data visualization as well as digital storytelling are complemented by on-site museum visits and tours to shed light on the working methods of different actors in the museum sector. In addition, international experts such as Sarah Kenderdine (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne), Ross Parry (University of Leicester), Maximilian Schich (Tallinn University), Freya Schlingmann (Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin) and Dominic Oldman (British Museum, London) provide practical knowledge about the latest developments and trends.

The Summer Institute draws on the expertise and large data resources of the Center for Image Science (ADA – Archive for Digital Art, GSSG – Graphische Sammlung Stift Göttweig Online) at the Department for Arts and Cultural Studies, and the Belvedere with its online collections.

On each program day, participants have the opportunity for an intensive theoretical exchange under the guidance of renowned experts. Participants are invited to bring in their own topics and questions in order to develop them further during the course of the Summer Institute. Digital competencies are to be significantly expanded; For this purpose, among other things, new digital tools for exhibition design and online collections are taught. The Summer Institute offers participants the opportunity to build a professional network, gain digital know-how in exhibition contexts, and develop innovative future collection projects.

Target Group

The Belvedere/UWK Summer Institute is aimed at curators, museum professionals, and individuals engaged in the curation of collections who are working on the implementation of online museum collections, particularly from German-speaking countries. Prerequisites for participation are at least three years of professional experience in a museum as well as good to very good language skills in German (B2) and English (B2).

The number of participants is limited to 14 (a maximum of 1 person per institution).

The selection of the participants has been made by a jury consisting of representatives from both hosting institutions and was based on candidates’ professional suitability as well as on their letter of motivation.

Costs

Thanks to the generous support of the Getty Foundation, travel expenses, meals and accommodation for participants are fully covered. No additional participation fees are charged.

Application

The Call for Applications is closed, no more applications can be considered for the Belvedere/UWK Summer Institute.

However, we may draw your attention to selected study programs at the Department for Arts and Cultural Studies:

Furthermore, there is a public keynote lecture on “The Art of Information and Data in Museums” held by Saskia Scheltjens, Head of the Department of Research Services of the Rijksmuseum and Chief Librarian of the Rijksmuseum Research Library, on September 14 at the Blickle Kino at Belvedere 21 in Vienna.

We are also pleased to draw your attention on the topic of “Digital Museum” to the Belvedere (online) conference series “The Art Museum in the Digital Age”. Engaging in an ongoing evaluation of institutional practices and examining museums’ evolving role in the twenty-first century are essential to ensuring progressive museum work. The Belvedere Research Center has been hosting interdisciplinary conferences since 2019 to discuss the opportunities and challenges that come with the digital transformation of art museums. With changing focal points, the international conference focuses on art history and media theory and features lectures and critical analyses of current topics. Check out previous conference videos and related information for more details. The next format takes place in January 2024, which we cordially invite you to attend. For more information, visit www.belvedere.at/en/art-museum-digital-age.

About the Belvedere Research Centre and the Department for Arts and Cultural Studies at the UWK

The Österreichische Galerie Belvedere houses the most important collection of Austrian art from the Middle Ages to the present. With over 1.5 million visitors per year, it is one of Austria’s leading museums and thus one of the most important cultural institutions in the region. The Belvedere Research Centre, headed by Christian Huemer, PhD, is dedicated to documenting, indexing and researching Austrian art in an international context. The research centre operates a specialised library as well as various archives and research databases, including the online collection. One of the main concerns for the next few years is the conversion of the existing system landscape in the direction of interoperability, open source and optimised user-friendliness.

At the Department for Arts and Cultural Studies at the University for Continuing Education Krems, both the Center for Image Science (Director: Dr. Viola Rühse) and the Center for Cultures and Technologies of Collecting (Director: Prof. Dr. Anja Grebe) offer teaching in the fields of image studies, art and cultural history and exhibition management. At the Center for Image Science, new scientific tools for image studies are currently being further developed. Collections, museums and digitisation are essential research foci of the Department for Arts and Cultural Studies. The Center for Museum Collections Management primarily conducts research on museum objects and collections of the Lower Austrian provincial collections, while the Center for Cultures and Technologies of Collecting is concerned with the development and implementation of transdisciplinary research projects and teaching formats in cultural and collection studies.