MUSE.AR

MUSE.AR

Project leader: Pro Progresione, Hungary

Novena d.o.o., Croatia

Management of the tourist space Lepenski Vir ltd, Serbia

Association of managers in the sector of culture, Hungary

NaFILM, Czech Republic

Ajvar studios AB, Sweden

Maximum grant awarded: 650.305 €

The main aim of the project is to enable a wider use of digital collections of museums and cultural heritage sites by developing an inter-sector pilot programme of digital story-telling with participation and collaboration within creative industries and the IT sector. This need stems from the fact that in sites of historical importance existing digital archives and collections are not sufficiently used. They are available to some extent and can be browsed on the web. Also, the project recognises the lack of good practices in utilising digital tools which could be used for educational purposes as an influence on the quality of visitors’ experience. The project also assumes intensifying cooperation between different sectors such as cultural and creative industries and their sub-sectors (audio-visual equipment and media, performing arts, visual art, cultural heritage, archives and libraries) and the IT sector.

Specific aims of the project are:

1. STRENGTHENING INTER-SECTOR COOPERATION: empowering different actors on the market to operate between sectors, through direct testing of models of inter-sector cooperation between different sectors (culture and IT) and between different sub-sectors within culture (visual arts, performing arts, audio-visual equipment and media, cultural heritage, archives and libraries), as well as wiser synchronisation of efforts between them with a shared goal to utilise the strength of digital tools for our shared European cultural heritage.

• We invite nine artists from different disciplines (digital, audio-visual, performing) to create our three digital narrative pilot projects in three sites of cultural heritage or museums using the newly developed digital tool
• We are creating a mobile application MUSE.ar, which will achieve inter-sector cooperation
• We are organising six museum hackathlons in six different countries, including at least 30 additional digital artists

2. ENCOURAGING INNOVATIVE APPROACHES AND TOOLS: promoting the inter-sector approach to problem solving for challenges faced by culture in the context of quick digitalisation and creating innovative tools in order to offer sustainable solutions for identified challenges, and also innovating the existing practice by offering new methods.

• We are creating a mobile application MUSE.ar as a new, innovative tool for artists and cultural heritage institutions
• We are designing a new certified programme of training for digital translators, in collaboration with Interpret Europe, encouraging the utilisation of digital tools in story-telling and interpreting cultural heritage, while at the same time contributing to digital capacities of museum experts and guides
• We are enabling the total of eight (three directly involved museums + five connected museums) for digital interpretation, while offering an opportunity for additional 20 cultural heritage experts in our training programme to directly use our activities and learn about new tools

3. UTILISATION OF TECHNOLOGY: with the intention to solve challenges for culture and help in improving their capacities to use digital surrounding to the greatest extent.

• We are creating MUSE.ar as a digital tool offering a framework for interpretation of cultural heritage, where artists, story-tellers and guides should create content
• We are organizing two residential programmes, where artists create content for the MUSE.ar application, using technology as a tool
• We are creating a new certified programme of training in order to enable story-tellers and experts for cultural heritage to use technology (including the MUSE.ar applications and more) as a means to include their own content in their environment.
• During six museum hackathlons in six different museum institutions throughout Europe we will present MUSE.ar as a technological tool for artists to present and distribute their artistic ideas in a new form

4. EASIER ACCESS, DISTRIBUTION AND PROMOTION OF CULTURE AND CREATIVITY: support to innovations in terms of access, distribution and promotion of creative content and focussing on three major factors in a holistic manner: raising awareness, improving the quality of data and improving user experience.

• We are distributing our methodologies (in training and technology) in 10 different international networks, reaching over 1000 interested parties throughout Europe.
• We are organizing three big public events, initiating digital narratives in our partner sites of cultural heritage, reaching over 1000 visitors directly on the spot and 10000 in the long term, since digital narratives remain available after the completion of the project.
• We are organizing six museum hackathlons, where we are reaching over 300 visitors who will understand cultural heritage and creativity from a different perspective.

Our aim is to reach several thousands of people through the digital tool MUSE.ar because it enables reaching potential users throughout the world and in this way, it contributes to easier access and distribution of culture on the international level.