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


• 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.


• 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


• 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

culture, audience and technology

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