Museums and the Web may be the most important on-going discussion of digital practice in the arts and heritage world. Scholars and museum professionals meet to trade ideas and experiences about everything from social media to augmented reality as these innovations apply to museums and cultural institutions. What was once an annual US-based conference has now expanded to include international satellite locations and multiple meeting dates. Close on the heels of convening in Hong Kong and Beijing in December 2013, a three-day Museums and the Web conference will be held in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio from February 19 to 21, 2014.
The theme for 2014 is Open Museums and Smartcities: Storytelling and Connected Culture. Discussions will focus on the ways that cultural heritage providers can connect with communities through such means as universal design, accessibility, social inclusion, augmented reality, social media, crowdsourcing, open content, mobile devices, games and digital collaboration. Speakers are expected from the USA, UK, France, Belgium, Cyprus and of course Italy. Amongst the most anticipated talks are those by Neal Stimler on Google Glass, and the keynote by Cory Doctorow, a major thinker on the Maker movement.
The staff of The Florentine and Flod, the communications agency that shares ownership with The Florentine, are especially excited about the upcoming conference (which is entirely in English), as we strongly believe in the importance of digital communication, among other things, for Italian museums. (See, for example, the interview with Philippe Daverio in this issue and an article about Italian museums and social media in TF 184.)
TF is, therefore, a proud media partner of Museums and the Web Florence 2014 (#MWF2014), and we encourage the interested public as well as students of the arts and those engaged in museum studies, media and technology to attend. Conference activities include presentations of papers, workshops, and informal discussions, all of which are designed to provide opportunities for exchange. All papers from Museums and the Web conferences will be published online, thus providing an important resource after the event.
Tickets for the three-day event cost 200 euro if purchased before January 20, 2014 (300 euro after), but TF readers get a special 50-euro discount on the standard ticket. The TF discount code is: e92e-dea8-562f-fe95 to be entered on this page. The student ticket is just 30 euro before January 20 (50 euro after).
