A tablet view of the EMOTIVE project

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Digital Cultural Heritage Blog

Digital Cultural Heritage is our first Arts & Humanities Partnership Catalyst, #AHPCatalyst, taking place Jan to May 2022. The Catalyst aims to explore what Digital Cultural Heritage means to the various industry sectors (private, public and third sector). A range of perspectives from colleagues across the College of Arts will initiate the process, highlighting what Digital Cultural Heritage means to the University of Glasgow as an academic institution. 

Explore the blogs below to discover the research, insights and challenges facing the ever-evolving landscape of Digital Cultural Heritage.

To get in touch about the Digital Cultural Heritage Catalyst or any of the content you find in this blog, please email fraser.rowan@glasgow.ac.uk

A tablet view of the EMOTIVE project

View our Catalyst Case Studies

Screen grab from BHP website
Screen grab from BHP website

BHP: Learning by Accident

Tue, 10 May 2022 17:25:00 BST

When Sha Nazir, was working in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum he realised that effective storytelling can be an useful tool to help people learn. Since those initial observations, Sha has established Glasgow Comic Con and graphic novel press, BHP.

Image of British Library record archive
Image of British Library record archive

British Library: Preserving the cultural sound of the nation

Tue, 10 May 2022 15:36:00 BST

Archiving the sounds of the UK poses some challenges. Although the British Library collects recordings, it doesn’t have the benefit of a legal deposit process akin to that associated with print publications; there is no legal requirement for artists to submit copies of their recordings to the British Library.

A view from the moving image archive
A view from the moving image archive

National Library of Scotland: Making Every Voice Heard

Tue, 10 May 2022 14:15:00 BST

The National Library of Scotland has a strategic goal to digitise one third of their collections in time for their centenary in 2025. Alison Stevenson, Associate Director for Collections and Research explains some of the challenges this ambitious goal presents NLS with.

Screen grab from BBC Panorama
Screen grab from BBC Panorama

ISODESIGN: Reinvention and Innovation

Mon, 02 May 2022 10:40:00 BST

ISODESIGN is a Glasgow-based design media and software studio. They develop, design, and create large-scale, location-based installations. Though they began life producing graphics for television, over 80% of their projects are now for clients within the cultural heritage sector. A growing hunger for innovation hunger led to the creation of isoLABS which has a focus on purely on R&D.

Splash image from NMS
Splash image from NMS

National Museums Scotland: Priorities and Perspectives

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 22:13:00 BST

Providing access to the collection is a key concern for National Museums Scotland and doing so digitally is one of their strategic priorities. The global pandemic helped to place further emphasis on the importance of considering how different audiences might interact with collections, especially as Covid-19 forced museums and galleries to temporarily close their doors.

Provost Skene House - Visit Scotland
Provost Skene House - Visit Scotland

VisitScotland: Keeping our cultural heritage alive and accessible

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 14:07:00 BST

For VisitScotland, digital cultural heritage represents an opportunity to engage with wider audiences and inspire them with what Scotland has to offer. The global pandemic brought about new challenges for VisitScotland and the wider tourism sector, especially during the first phase of lockdowns when travel was prohibited.

Advert from the National Trust for Scotland
Advert from the National Trust for Scotland

National Trust for Scotland: Turning Theory into Practice

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 14:41:00 GMT

Digital heritage plays an increasingly important role in the work of the National Trust for Scotland. Michael Terwey, Head of Heritage Services and Consultancy for NTS explains more about the challenges this has posed and the opportunities it has opened up.

A woman holding a rock from the Hunterian
A woman holding a rock from the Hunterian

Hunterian: A conduit for engagement

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 10:37:00 GMT

University museums occupy a unique place within their communities, representing a conduit for engagement by providing the expertise and a space in which collaborations between academic and non-academic partners can flourish to great effect. Over the last decade, the museum sector has experienced a dramatic development in digital technology. The global pandemic emphasised the value of digitisation and having an online presence.

ScreenShot of Stirling Maxwell Centre online
ScreenShot of Stirling Maxwell Centre online

The Potential of Digital Culture

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 13:59:00 GMT

Individually, digital technology and comics are sources of great potential, but when combined, they become an exciting force to be reckoned with. From working with museums, creating online resources to supplement exhibitions to creating educational resources for Education Scotland, Prof Grove embraces the benefits of Digital Cultural Heritage.

Splash format of Roman book
Splash format of Roman book

Connecting with history

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 10:23:00 GMT

Though the pandemic created some challenges, such as preventing physical visits and connections to the Antonine Wall and its local communities, it has also led to new and exciting opportunities. By offering resources such as images, animations, and 3D visualisations online, those stories can be accessed by, and tied to international contemporary audiences and their perspectives.

Person holding a mask
Person holding a mask

A collaboration like no other

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 12:05:00 GMT

Collaboration, particularly with partners outside of the university, allowed the DiNAR project to produce impactful and engaging results which really worked. ‘Viking VR’ and ‘Within the Walls of York Gaol’, both investigated the practices of design, creation and use of interactive and immersive media in museums and heritage organisations.

Splash size screen grab of MQoS painting
Splash size screen grab of MQoS painting

Digital Evolution and the Afterlife of Mary Queen of Scots

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 14:12:00 GMT

Historian Dr Steven Reid describes how a painting (‘The Abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots’) went on to inspire an RSE funded project, from which online resources, a MOOC and an exhibition have been developed. Collaboration across a network of partners was at the core of this activity.

Engaging the Generation of Thumbelina and Tom Thumb

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 13:29:00 GMT

Due to the proliferation of new technology, there is a new generation that thinks in new and unique ways. According to philosopher Michel Serres, we need to teach them differently. To do this, we need to understand how they experience the world, and what they may lose and gain through their digital interactions.

A demonstration of VR AR on campus
A demonstration of VR AR on campus

Advanced Research Centre: VR/AR For All

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 11:50:00 GMT

At the heart of the new Advanced Research Centre on campus is a space dedicated for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) research, also known as ARC XR. Not just for the University, this is a shared resource for all.

Animated still from Emotive app
Animated still from Emotive app

Engaging the Private, Public and 3rd Sector with EMOTIVE

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 10:06:00 GMT

Professor Maria Economou shares her experience of engaging multiple museums & galleries, universities, and commercial organisations, to use storytelling as a way for visitors to heritage sites to connect more effectively with the past.

A tablet view of the EMOTIVE project
A tablet view of the EMOTIVE project

The Evolution of Digital Cultural Heritage

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 08:00:00 GMT

In this post, Dr Fraser Rowan, College of Arts Knowledge Exchange and Impact Manager, reflects on the evolving meanings of Digital Cultural Heritage, and what to expect from the first Catalyst over the coming months.