NETWORKED ARTS - Methods and Tools to create and maintain Virtual Museums

In the last years computer graphics, hypermedia and telecommunications were applied in exploitation of museums, art galleries, architecture and other kinds of works of art. Network access to museums and galleries seems to offer both easier access to cultural heritage and new revenue for its preservation and display. Many relevant players both in the Museums and ICT communities invested time and resources creating pilot projects and applications ranging between 3D reconstruction, image based rendering and virtual museums. We are now in a position to consider if such investments are effectively useful and really increase and diffuse knowledge in the arts, sciences and history and if they satisfy users’ requirements. Do virtual museums really provide added value to end-users? Museums, content providers and users are ready and willing new technologies for cultural heritage? The tutorial provides a comprehensive introduction to the state of the art technologies, methods and standards in the field of online cultural content (museums, collections, memory banks). The tutorial aims to address the needs of new emerging market including new mixed-economy models for exploitation, repackaging and re-use. “Information and communication technology (ICT) is an engine of growth and change for the world economy. If this technology is to be harnessed to enhance democratic principles, it must contribute to the creation and enrichment of an educated, informed citizenry; it must incorporate the accumulated knowledge and creativity of the past; and it must anticipate and enhance creativity for the future. In this context, it is essential that ICT embrace a cultural agenda. Development effectiveness depends to a great extent on “solutions” that resonate with a community’s sense of identity and culture creates that sense of identity. Culture encompasses human knowledge, values, beliefs, behaviour, customs, language, ideas, codes, institutions, heritage, rituals, and creative expression all of which constitute essential signposts for understanding who we are and what we do. If advances in health, commerce, education, and economic growth are to be implemented and sustained, understanding culture is critical.” (On culture in a worldwide Information Society)