Peripatetic electronic teachers in higher education

This paper explores the idea of information and communications technology providing a medium enabling higher education teachers to act as freelance agents. The notion of a ‘Peripatetic Electronic Teacher’ (PET) is introduced to encapsulate this idea. PETs would exist as multiple telepresences (pedagogical, professional, managerial and commercial) in PET‐worlds; global networked environments which support advanced multimedia features. The central defining rationale of a pedagogical presence is described in detail and some implications for the adoption of the PET‐world paradigm are discussed. The ideas described in this paper were developed by the author during a recently completed Short‐Term British Telecom Research Fellowship, based at the BT Adastral Park

Listening to Museums: Sounds as objects of culture and curatorial care

This practice-based project begins with an exploration of the acoustic environments of a variety of contemporary museums via field recording and sound mapping. Through a critical listening practice, this mapping leads to a central question: can sounds act as objects analogous to physical objects within museum practice – and if so, what is at stake in creating a museum that only exhibits sounds?Given the interest in collection and protection of intangible culture within contemporary museum practice, as well as the evolving anthropological view of sound as an object of human culture, this project suggests that a re-definition of Pierre Shaeffer’s oft-debated term ‘sound object’ within the context of museum practice may be of use in re-imagining how sounds might be able to function within traditionally object-based museum exhibition practices. Furthermore, the longstanding notion of ‘soundmarks’ – sounds that reoccur within local communities which help to define their unique cultural identity – is explored as a means by which post-industrial sounds such as traffic signals for the visually impaired and those made by public transport, may be considered deserving of protection by museum practitioners.These ideas are then tested via creative practice by establishing an experimental curatorial project, The Museum of Portable Sound (MOPS), an institution dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting sounds as objects of culture and human agency. MOPS displays sounds, collected via the author’s field recording practice, as museological objects that, like the physical objects described by Stephen Greenblatt, ‘resonate’ with the outside world – but also with each other, via their careful selection and sequencing that calls back to the mix tape culture of the late twentieth century.The unconventional form of MOPS – digital audio files on a single mobile phone accompanied by a museum ‘map’ and Gallery Guide – emphasizes social connections between the virtual and the physical. The project presents a viable format via which sounds may be displayed as culture while also interrogating what a museum can be in the twenty first centur

Friendly chimeras: the evolution of critical creative practice in exhibition design

This paper aims to develop and articulate an historical perspective on the relationships between exhibition design, academic endeavour in the humanities and professional development. It reflects on design culture and educational philosophy and traces the recent history of curriculum development in exhibition design. The exhibition design course at University of Lincoln has a sixty-year history. Reviewing the way its philosophy has evolved reveals a consistently dynamic reflection of real-world interests. This has involved a pragmatic and somewhat eclectic appropriation of theory, particularly from the expanding field of museology, and its integration into an increasingly critical mode of creative practice. When the course became an undergraduate honours degree in 1991 the �project rationale� was introduced as an alternative to the traditional undergraduate dissertation. The principle of integrating theory and practice proved enormously successful and now applies throughout the curriculum. Discourse analysis is applied to articles and course documents from the period 1970 to 1999. Bibliographical survey is also used to analyse the range and type of literature used to support students� studies. This is set against a background of influences on the exhibition design curriculum. These include contemporary changes in design practice, the growth of research into and for design, and changes in the national and institutional frameworks for course development. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the role of the humanities in exhibition design creativity and highlights outstanding issues in the discipline

A Brief History of the Mobile Museum: What it is, what it was, and what it can be

This paper was submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Museum Studies

Do we need permission to play in public? The design of participation for social play video games at play parties and ‘alternative’ games festivals

Play is a fundamental to being Human. It helps to make sense of the self, to learn, to be creative and to relax. The advent of video games challenged traditional notions of play, introducing a single player experience to what had primarily been a communal social activity. As technology has developed, communal play has found both online and real-world spaces within video games. Online streaming, multiplayer games and built-in spectator modes within games underpin online communal play experiences, whilst ‘alternative’ games festivals, play parties and electronic sports, provide real world spaces for people to meet, play and exchange knowledge relating to both playing and making video games. This article reports the study of social play events which bring people together in the same space to explore video games making and playing. Expert interviews with curators, and event facilitators provides qualitative data from which design processes are formalised into a ‘model of participation’ of social play. Four key areas of balance are proposed as core considerations in supporting participation in event design. The study of these events also suggests that their design and fostering of participation has the potential to evoke cultural change in game making and playing practices

Designing Sugaropolis:digital games as a medium for conveying transnational narratives

In this paper, the authors present a case study of ‘Sugaropolis’: a two-year practice-based project that involved interdisciplinary co-design and stakeholder evaluation of two digital game prototypes. Drawing on the diverse expertise of the research team (game design and development, human geography, and transnational narratives), the paper aims to contribute to debates about the use of digital games as a medium for representing the past. With an emphasis on design-as-research, we consider how digital games can be (co-)designed to communicate complex histories and geographies in which people, objects, and resources are connected through space and time

The primary art market in Turin: Internship report at Febo & Dafne Art Gallery

The present thesis stems from the internship that I did in Febo & Dafne, an art gallery located in Turin, Italy. This internship occurred as part of the master’s in art markets, and took place between February and May of 2022. The thesis is structured in two parts. The first part describes the primary art market in Turin, starting by situating the city in the cultural environment, namely its museums, foundations, art fairs, auction houses and art magazines. These institutions constitute the basis for the main cultural events and activities taken place in Turin. Apart from these institutions, there are different contemporary art galleries that are the crucial part of the primary art market, with a focus on the ones that participate on the most important international art fairs. The second part of this dissertation is focused on the internship with a detailed description of the activities and experiences that I have carried out. The chapter begins with the history of Febo & Dafne and the evolution of the gallery during the years. It continues by describing how an exhibition is planned and organized, until the opening day, specifically explaining the activities that I developed during my internship. The participation on an art fair is another point that I address, as well as the relation between the gallery and Turin’s art system. All the competences that I acquired during this experience gave me a wider perspective of the art world, most specifically in Italy.A presente tese tem como princípio o estágio que fiz na Febo & Dafne, uma galeria de arte localizada em Turim, Itália. Este estágio foi desenvolvido no âmbito do mestrado em Mercados da Arte, e decorreu durante os meses de fevereiro a maio de 2022. A tese está estruturada em duas partes. A primeira parte descreve o mercado de arte primário em Turim, começando por situar a cidade no ambiente cultural, especificando os museus, fundações, feiras de arte, casas de leilões, bem como as revistas de arte. Essas instituições constituem a base para os principais eventos e atividades culturais que ocorrem em Turim. Para além destas instituições, existem diversas galerias de arte contemporânea que correspondem à parte crucial do mercado de arte primário, com um especial destaque para as que participam nas mais importantes feiras de arte internacionais. A segunda parte desta dissertação está focada no estágio com uma detalhada descrição das atividades e experiências que eu concretizei. O capítulo começa com a história da Febo & Dafne e a evolução da galeria ao longo dos anos. Em seguida, descreve os processos de planeamento e organização de uma exposição, até ao dia da inauguração, especificando as atividades que desenvolvi durante o estágio. A participação em feiras de arte, consiste outro ponto a ter em consideração, assim como a relação que a galeria estabelece com o sistema de arte de Turim. Todas as competências que adquiri durante esta experiência deram-me uma visão mais ampla do mundo da arte, mais concretamente em Itália

Model Behavior: Using Photogrammetry for Collections Storage Planning

Proper and efficient collections storage is often a challenge for museums. As collections outgrow their facilities, institutions struggle to find additional space, often resorting to hasty moves of their objects into ill-fitting placements. A large-scale collections move is a slowgoing process, requiring manual measurement and countless trial-and-error sessions. An unnoticed support beam, a low entryway, or uneven flooring can derail even the most well-planned collections move, costing an organization unexpected additions in time and labor expenses. Advancements in emerging technologies, however, may soon eliminate this problem. This capstone explores the use of photogrammetry and 3D modeling to plan a collections storage move in a virtual environment. It examines the relationship between museums and technology through an analysis of museum studies literature, and showcases examples from the archaeology, architecture, and design fields to demonstrate the potential of photogrammetry. A collections move project using this technology for the digital modeling of storage spaces is proposed and detailed. Through the proposed project, I argue that the use of these technologies to design collections storage will greatly optimize a collections move