ViMuseo.fi

Finnish Anthropology Conference 2011
Dynamic Anthropology: Tensions between Theory and Practice
University of Helsinki, October 5-7, 2011

I invite all to participate in the Finnish Anthropology Conference, and especially in the session: Crossing boundaries: New emerging fields of research in humanities from the anthropological perspective, where I will present the paper: Museums and Anthropology in a Digital World.

Museums and Anthropology in a Digital World
Abstract:
While digital cultural projects are relatively new phenomena, there is a long history of influences and interrelation between museum studies and anthropology. Digital technologies have brought new challenges to both disciplines and have resulted in new research practices, approaches and fields of study being developed. New technologies have been strongly present in museums since the 1960s; however, it was the arrival of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s that brought the most radical changes to museums. The internet and new technologies became easily accessible by ordinary people; both museum professionals and museum visitors. A huge demand for new applications and technological solutions has since developed, leading to a number of questions being raised, such as: How have these new technologies been developed? How has anthropology contributed to these technologies and new digital projects? What are the newest trends in museum informatics and how do ethnographic methods and tools influence them? And, how might an anthropological background contribute to these new fields of study in a digital context?

Drawing on a number of practical examples and my own research into virtual museums, I will explore these new fields of research and approaches related to museums from the anthropological point of view. Moreover, I will demonstrate a number of methods which are widely used in ethnology and anthropology and examine their use in the context of digital museums. Finally, ethnographic action research and its potential use in the implementation of digital projects will be discussed.

The project is described in the Journal Nordic Museology: Digital Museology (1/2011) http://www.nordiskmuseologi.org/Indholdsfortegn/Indhold111.html

M. Laine-Zamojska. (2011). Digitization of Cultural Heritage. ViMuseo.fi project. Description of PhD project. Nordisk Museologi 1/2011. 125-134.

Exhibitions as Sites of Cultural Diversity – Foreignness
Museoaiheisen tutkimuksen forum

November 18-19, 2010
University of Turku, Sirkkala campus, Kaivokatu 12

November 19, 2010

• Magdalena Laine-Zamojska: Suomalaisten museoiden verkkonäyttelyt ja kulttuurin monimuotoisuus. ViMuseo.fi hanke.

Exhibitions as Sites of Cultural Diversity. Program pdf file

European Museum Forum Workshop 2010:

Art, Science and Heritage: Interdisciplinary Museum Projects in the Local Communities
Turku, Finland
15-18 September 2010

The workshop was a wonderful opportunity to meet a select group of outstanding speakers and museum professionals.

The ViMuseo was also presented to the delegates.

The workshop was organized to promote innovations and the exchange of best museum practices. The workshop was supported by Kone Foundation, Saari Residence: http://www.koneensaatio.fi/en/manor/

More about the European Museum Forum: http://www.europeanmuseumforum.org