Post on 19-Feb-2017
Play, Discovery and Co-production
Kevin Bacon, Digital Development Officer@fauxtoegrafik
Digital engagement in Brighton’sRoyal Pavilion & Museums
@BrightonMuseums
Brighton & Hove• 270,000 population
• Largest and most influential seaside resort in UK
• Thriving digital sector
Royal Pavilion
Museums
Brighton Museum & Art GalleryHove Museum & Art Gallery
Preston ManorBooth Museum of Natural History
Royal Pavilion & Museums
Royal Pavilion
• Over 500,000 visitors per year across five sites
• Three collections Designated of national importance
• One of 21 Major Partner Museums funded by Arts Council England
Collections
Decorative Art
Local History
Fine Art
Natural History
Film & Media
Costume
Archaeology
World Art
Digital Engagement
Assets• Objects• Buildings• Stories• Knowledge• Staff / volunteers
Digital Content• Blog• Website• Data• Image• App• Game
Audiences• Gallery visitors• Online viewers• Teachers• Researchers• Young people
Golden Rule
Assets• Objects• Buildings• Stories• Knowledge• Staff / volunteers
Digital Content• Blog• Website• Data• Image• App• Game
Audiences• Gallery visitors• Online viewers• Teachers• Researchers• Young people
Developing a digital idea should never start with the technology…
Innovation is not exclusively digital
Co-production
Engagement Elsewhere
World Stories: Young Voices
Co-production
Dr Brighton’s War
Engagement Elsewhere
Co-production
What is Co-production?
Working with individuals and community groups outside of the museum to produce new products.
It can:
• Produce richer content through a diversity of voices• Enable people to learn new skills• Sometimes can save costs• Gives the public a greater sense of ownership of the museum
Blogger in Residence
brightonmuseums.org.uk/discover/stories/
‘I’m tapping away at the laptop when this dude comes up in a dark blue three-cornered hat, like a comedy Napoleon.... what we talk about is why the Royal Pavilion wasn’t built facing out to sea and what that means about George IV’s disinterest in nature, versus people’
Chris T-T
Access Advisory Group
•‘Critical friend’ advising RPM on access issues
• Supported redevelopment of brightonmuseums.org.uk with user testing
Open Collections and Assets
brightonmuseums.org.uk/discover/collections/
• Collection data and ‘hi-res’ assets available under CC BY-SA licence
• Open API to support external re-use
Play
What is Play?
Variety of definitions, but can be:
• Rule based games (ludus)• Creative experiences that bend the rules (paidia)• Tone of voice• Occasionally counter-curatorial
Playful practice may not establish new relationships like co-production or engaging elsewhere, but it opens up new possibilities and new audiences.
www.murderinthemanor.org.uk
Stone Age Quest
stoneagequest.org.uk
murderinthemanor.org.uk
Murder in the Manor
remixthemuseum.com
Remix the Museum
remixthemuseum.com
Remix the Museum
Discovery
What is Discovery?
Museums are all about discovery.
Discovery can be through:
• Research• Serendipity• A journey
Are online museum experiences too focused on researchers?
mapthemuseum.org.uk
Map the Museum
Story Drop• Location based ‘treasure hunt’ app
• Free download for iOS and Android devices
• Developed by Surface Impression
• Driven by CMS for both curatorial and community content
{Pick a tour}
{Unlock}
• Beta launched at 2013 Brighton Digital Festival
• Full release Jan 2014
• Some people really like it!
• But two major problems
Does it work?
1. England is a wet country
Dominic Alves, Flickr CC BY
Where’s my GPS?
I have to walk there?
Yes, I’ll have to look at it one day...
My battery is running low!
How do I unlock it?
No thanks, it’s raining.
So what have we learned?
• Audiences are the most challenging aspect of any digital project
• Co-production can be come quickly embedded into the way we work
• Technology works best when it’s almost invisible
Future work
Website as centre of digital activity
brightonmuseums.org.uk
Understanding audience behaviour
3D models
brightonmuseums.org.uk/discover/play/3d-models/
Mobile gallery trails
http://brightonmuseums.org.uk/brighton/what-to-see/lgbtq-museum-trail/
But...
Play, discovery and co-production are still essential ingredients to what we do.
kevin.bacon@brighton-hove.gov.uk
@fauxtoegrafik
brightonmuseums.org.uk
Thank you!