Presented in partnership between the Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMaGA) ACT and the Humanities Research Centre (HRC) at the Australian National University.

Event Report - Cultural Conversations 4 - November 2022

The last two years have brought about huge challenges for the Galleries Libraries Archives and Museum (GLAM) sector. As institutions closed the doors to their physical sites, cultural institutions large and small relied on digital platforms to engage their audiences. Digital transformation was already a big part of the sector’s focus - projects of mass digitisation, the rapidly growing impacts of social media on everything from marketing to user experiences of in-person exhibitions, to name but two. In some cases, the arrival of Covid-19 and widespread lockdowns sped up an embrace of the digital realm, and of growth already in progress, but it also revealed huge gaps in capacities and funding for many institutions. This made visible a digital divide and perennial challenges of accessibility that continue to face museum audiences.

This conversation will engage with digital practices of museums generally, how GLAM organisations responded to the pandemic, and what is required of the sector to ensure relevance and future sustainability.

Speakers

Dr Keir Winesmith, Head of Digital, National Gallery of Australia

Alison Dellit, Assistant Director-General, Collaboration Branch, National Library of Australia

Dr Erica Seccombe, Senior Lecturer, ANU School of Art & Design

Craig Middleton, Senior Curator, National Museum of Australia

Dr Katrina Grant, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Digital Humanities Research, ANU

About the series
Cultural Conversations aims to create space for deeper connections between museum professionals, academics, and students in the ACT to share ideas and practice relating to the museums and galleries sector.