what will the museum of the future be like?

Transformations in Cultural Communication 2011

Another successful conference!!!!

This year we brought out leading speakers from the Smithsonian Institution to speak on issues which affect the cultural diversity within our institutions.

Read summary of the conference here

and of the unconference here

The first few years of social media brought new approaches to audience engagement, emphasising knowledge sharing through open platforms. As organisations explored the potential of social media, they focused on the impact this would have on their internal practices. Today there is growing emphasis on how these seemingly democratic forms of communication can support and develop culturally diverse audiences.

Transformations in Cultural Communication offers a unique opportunity to draw together leading researchers and professionals in the field of cultural communication to explore the tangible ways in which social media can engage culturally diverse audiences. It draws on national and international experience in mobile technologies, education, cultural diversity and industry/community partnerships to address cultural diversity beyond the polemics of inclusion.

This symposium provides an excellent opportunity to address highly charged and significant questions related to the ways in which cultural organisations encourage audiences to engage in issues related to broad global and civic themes. Importantly, it explores the ways in which social media will support this cultural exchange into the future.

15 April 2011

Session 1 - 9.30 – 10.45am

Social media goes mobile – new media, old messages

This session explores the distribution and communication of cultural practices across multiple platforms. Our speakers will examine the process by which communications can engage culturally diverse audiences, focusing on mobile technologies and social media online and onsite. This session will be of value to cultural managers, curators, community representatives, communication specialist, on-line producers.

Nancy Proctor,PhD. Head of Mobile Strategy and Initiatives, Smithsonian Institution

Sebastian Chan, Powerhouse Museum

Chair: Associate Professor Angelina Russo, PhD. RMIT University

Session 2 – 10.50 – 12.05pm

Supporting cultural diversity

This session explores the cultural and political dimensions of indigenous content, focusing on the representation of artefacts, dance and music and notions of intangible culture. Our Keynote Speaker will discuss the role of institutions as advocates, preservers, commentators and communicators. This session will be of value to curators, directors, senior managers, artists and policy makers.

John Haworth, Director, National Museum of the American Indian, New York

Chair: Lynda Kelly, PhD. Head of Audience Research, Australian Museum

Lunch will be provided during which the Museum3 Annual General Meeting will be held

Session 3 1.15 – 2.30pm

Co-creating with under-served communities

This session explores how participatory content creation can be undertaken in culturally diverse communities. Our speakers will examine diverse approaches to cultural engagement, using current international examples to illustrate how social media can give a greater voice to participants and generate new interactive relations with under-served communities. This session will be of value to content producers, media artists, educators, community creators and curators.

Caroline Payson, Director of Education. Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. A Smithsonian Institution

Mei Mah, Deputy Director of Education. Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. A Smithsonian Institution

Chair: Michael Parry, Australian Centre for the Moving Image

Session 4 – 2.35 – 4.30pm

Connecting across communities

This session explores the role of sport as a conduit for cultural diversity and the value and benefits of building onsite networks to explore and extend an understanding of cultural practices. The session will include a keynote speech by a leading figure in the sporting world, followed by a panel of speakers who will explore issues of diversity, inclusion and multiculturalism from the perspective of broadcasting, collections and cultural brokerage.

This session will be of value to communication designers, curators, architects, community development specialists, artists and social media producers.

Monique Potts, Senior Producer, Strategic Development. Innovation, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Phil Gordon, Head of Indigenous Programs, Australian Museum

Fotis Kapetopoulos, CEO, Kape Communications

Chair: Dr Elycia Wallis, Museum Victoria

14 April 2011

Masterclasses

In addition to the one day symposium on 15th April, we will be offering 4 Masterclasses concurrently between 10am & 1pm on Thursday 14th April 2011. Each masterclass is structured around specific issues related to attracting and maintaining culturally diverse audiences. The masterclasses will be run by top national and international professionals and will be of value to cultural administrators, visual and media artists from diverse backgrounds, cultural programmers from local arts agencies, presenters and cultural institution professionals.

Masterclass #1 The future roles of mobile and portable media for co-creation

Dr Nancy Proctor, Head of Mobile Strategy & Initiatives, Smithsonian Institution

Mobile technologies are set to become some of the most important convergent technologies for cultural organisations. Given their history in cultural institutions, how are they best utilised in future co-created, participatory experiences? Dr Nancy Proctor is an internationally recognised expert in the development of mobile strategies for cultural organisations and this masterclass will explore some of the foundations of mobile technologies and their future roles along with the design and creation of portable media content.

Masterclass #2 Where do we go from here? Catching the next wave of social media

Erika Dicker, Assistant Curator, Powerhouse Museum

(Please note: this masterclass was originally to be run by Sebastian Chan. As he will still be in the USA, Erika will be conducting the masterclass. Erika and Seb have been working closely on social media in the museum for a number of years)

The past five years have brought tremendous innovations in the ways in which cultural organisations connect with audiences through social media. Now that the first wave of excitement has passed, where do we go? What strategies need to be put in place to capture new audiences and how can successful social media initiatives be embedded in communication and marketing strategies? This masterclass offers an unparalleled insight into the successes and challenges of social media in cultural organisations, focusing on the next wave and the opportunities it brings.

Masterclass #3 Partnering to connect cultural resources to new audiences

Caroline Payson, Director of Education, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. A Smithsonian Institution

Mei Mah, Deputy Director of Education, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. A Smithsonian Institution

Over the past five years the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum has created some of the most innovative educational programs in the cultural organisation sector. It has modeld participation and engagement both onsite and online. This masterclass focuses on new partnerships created to connect audiences, organisations and institutions in the pursuit of educational objectives. Using highly successful programs such as Teen Design Fair, Target Design Kids Festival, Design Directions and the recent partnership with New York Public Library, this masterclass demonstrates how to build links through partnerships and participatory practices.

Masterclass #4 Social Media Matters - creating agile environments for new opportunities

Dr Lynda Kelly. Head of Audience Research, Australian Museum

In 2009 the Australian Museum created a new character to engage audiences in the day to day workings of the museum. Mr Blobby The BlobFish, came into being following a television comedy segment. How did the museum capture the curiosity generated by a prime time comedy program to extend its reach beyond traditional audiences? How has social media been used to facilitate this relationship? This masterclass will demonstration how organisations can 'act quickly' to capture audience curiosity, connect their collections to contemporary issues and increase their visibility.