culture, audience and technology

Culture, Audience and Technology – the next 5 years

Nick PooleCEO, Collections Trust

Introductions

• Nick Poole

• CEO of Collections Trust

• Chair of the International Council of Museums, UK

• Councillor of the Museums Association

• Councillor of CILIP

• Special advisor on Culture & Technology to the European Commission

• Advisor to DCMS

The Collections Trust

• Independent UK organisation

• Campaigning for the public right to access and benefit from Collections in museums, archives, libraries and galleries

• Built around article 27 of the Universal declaration of Human Rights:

• “Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.”

• http://openculture.collectionstrustblogs.org.uk• http://www.collectionstrust.org.uk• http://www.collectionslink.org.uk• http://www.culturalpropertyadvice.gov.uk

OpenCulture

• OpenCulture is our name for the principle that culture is best when it is shared and celebrated.

• We believe that cultural identity is a right, and that culture provides a lens through which we can reflect on and understand conflict, intolerance and aggression.

• We believe that cultural organisations have a moral imperative to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding

• Our work is designed to engage with future trends and priorities in the sector and to help define a future role for cultural organisations as agents of social change and development.

Today’s session

• Session 1: Defining Culture

• Session 2: Mapping trends

• Session 3: Thinking through implications (opportunities and challenges)

• Anything else?

Defining Culture

• What does ‘Culture’ mean to you?

Mapping trends

• What are the social issues emerging around Culture?

Social issues

• At a time of crisis, both economic and ideological, people are turning to things that have depth, value and meaning, and which help them to understand the world.

• Mass unemployment and economic uncertainty risk undermining cultural identity, and political and social unrest always manifest as cultural intolerance.

• The range of consumer and leisure pursuits has expanded significantly, meaning that people have less time for culture

• “The unexamined life is not worth living” – taking time for culture, for reflection and thought is critical to mental health and welfare.

Social issues

• The right to representation – should all belief systems be given equal weight? If not, who decides?

• The risk of the ‘single story’

• The rise and fall (and subsequent rise) of the Diversity Agenda

• Citizen Journalism and democratic culture

Mapping trends

• What are the technological opportunities emerging around Culture?

Technological Opportunities

• The mainstreaming of the web, and convergence of consumer electronics is leading to a more digitally-empowered population than ever

• The web in particular puts the power of mass-distribution in the hands of the creative individual

• In some ways, the social contract with the audience is being re-written

• Moving from publishing to interaction to collaboration

• Building on the principle that knowledge grows through use, the more open and reusable your material, the more it will be used to create new works

Technological Opportunities

• Technology is changing the economic landscape in some profound ways

• The basic barriers to entry for online delivery have come crashing down

• Opening the way to 24-hour trade

• Creating digital white noise – in the web environment, differentiation and reach are the primary economic factors

• Challenges to authenticity

• Always important to remember that if you compare the history of the web to the history of print, we are still at the stage of making impressions in baked mud.

Technological Opportunities

• Exploring some examples:

• Culture Grid – creating a channel which puts culture into mainstream services such as Google, the BBC, Channel4

• Augmented reality – Google Goggles

• The Galaxy Zoo project

• Museum of London Transport, Underground Lives

Technological Opportunities

• Moving away from websites to applications and the flow of data

• Making the cultural experience familiar and intuitive

• Constructing a viable digital economy

Mapping trends

• What are the economic issues emerging around Culture?

Economic Issues

• Significant reductions in public spending on the Arts

• Merging or consolidation of national Arts & Culture organisations

• Increasing emphasis on the Creative Industries

• Returning to a culture of philanthropy

• Constraints on public leisure spend

• International art marker remains bouyant

The future!

• We’ll be out of recession and into a period of relative stability

• People will continue to demand high-quality, meaningful cultural experiences

• The distinction between online and offline will have become less and less relevant

• Patterns of consumer behaviour will continue to fragment across a portfolio of leisure pursuits

• Audiences will come pre-loaded with an expectation of their right to participate in and interact with their cultural services

The future!

• The Digital Divide will be bridged by mobile

• It’s unlikely you’ll need to provide the technology

Mapping trends

• What are the implications for your organisation/practice?

Nick PooleCEOCollections Trust

http://www.collectionstrust.org.uk

@NickPoole1@collectiontrust