Five museum and gallery projects have been awarded a share of £200,000 to develop digital applications and services that bring in new streams of revenue, engage audiences and help partner organisations.
The awards come from IC Tomorrow, which was developed by the Technology Strategy Board to enable content owners and application developers to trial new ideas.
The successful applicants were asked to address challenges within three themes: mobile- and location- based access; connectivity and conversations; and the commercialisation of digital assets.
The projects looking at the commercialisation of digital assets are the New Art Gallery Walsall, with an application exploring Jacob Epstein through art, archive material and video; and the British Museum, with a tool that allows publishers to use its content, with revenue generated through advertising.
Birmingham Museums and Art Galleries will develop a treasure hunt linking its nine sites, while a National Museums Scotland application will explore mobile- and location-based access.
Twitter data will be collected and analysed for National Museums Liverpool and the International Slavery Museum to enable curators to post questions and themes, and analyse comments and discussions globally.
Ioannis Ioannou, audience development curator at the New Art Gallery Walsall, said: “There is a lack of knowledge and expertise about emerging digital technology in the sector, and initiatives such as this are an excellent opportunity for us to work with companies and gain knowledge that we can share with other organisations.”
Among the other projects to have been awarded funding are a map-based application for arts charity Space, and a smartphone application that helps visitors get the most out of a museum or gallery visit.
Nick Appleyard, head of digital for the Technology Strategy Board, said: “The exciting ideas generated by this competition will help institutions create more engaging visits that attract new audiences and deliver memorable experiences.”
The awards come from IC Tomorrow, which was developed by the Technology Strategy Board to enable content owners and application developers to trial new ideas.
The successful applicants were asked to address challenges within three themes: mobile- and location- based access; connectivity and conversations; and the commercialisation of digital assets.
The projects looking at the commercialisation of digital assets are the New Art Gallery Walsall, with an application exploring Jacob Epstein through art, archive material and video; and the British Museum, with a tool that allows publishers to use its content, with revenue generated through advertising.
Birmingham Museums and Art Galleries will develop a treasure hunt linking its nine sites, while a National Museums Scotland application will explore mobile- and location-based access.
Twitter data will be collected and analysed for National Museums Liverpool and the International Slavery Museum to enable curators to post questions and themes, and analyse comments and discussions globally.
Ioannis Ioannou, audience development curator at the New Art Gallery Walsall, said: “There is a lack of knowledge and expertise about emerging digital technology in the sector, and initiatives such as this are an excellent opportunity for us to work with companies and gain knowledge that we can share with other organisations.”
Among the other projects to have been awarded funding are a map-based application for arts charity Space, and a smartphone application that helps visitors get the most out of a museum or gallery visit.
Nick Appleyard, head of digital for the Technology Strategy Board, said: “The exciting ideas generated by this competition will help institutions create more engaging visits that attract new audiences and deliver memorable experiences.”
