Image-based information: paintings in Wikipedia

__Purpose__ – This study aimed at understanding the use of paintings outside of an art-related context, in the English version of Wikipedia. __Method__ – For this investigation, we identified 8,104 paintings used in 10,008 articles of the English Wikipedia edition. We manually coded the topic of the article in question, documented the number of monthly average views, and identified the originating museum. We analysed the use of images based on frequency of use, frequency of view, associated topics, and location. Early in the analysis three distinct perspectives emerged: the readers of the online encyclopaedia, the editors of the articles, and the museum organisations providing the painting images (directly or indirectly). __Findings__ – Wikipedia is a widely used online information resource where images of paintings serve as visual reference to illustrate articles, notably also beyond an art-related topic and where no alternative image is available – as in the case of historic portraits. Editors used paintings as illustration of the work itself or art-related movement, but also as illustration of past events, as alternative to photographs, as well as to represent a concept or technique. Images have been used to illustrate up to 76 articles, evidencing the polysemic nature of paintings. We conclude that images of paintings are highly valuable information sources, also beyond an art related context. We also find that Wikipedia is an important dissemination channel for museum collections. While art related articles contain greater number of paintings, these receive less views than non-art related articles containing fewer paintings. Readers of all topics, predominantly history, science and geographic articles, viewed art pieces outside of an art context. Painting images in Wikipedia receive a much larger online audience than the physical painting does when compared to the number of museum onsite visitors. Our results confirm the presence of a strong long-tail pattern in the frequency of image use (only 3% of painting images are used in a Wikipedia article), image view, and museums represented, characteristic of network dynamics of the Internet. __Research limitations/Implications__ – While this is the first analysis of the complete collection of paintings in the English Wikipedia, our results are conservative as many paintings are not identified as such in Wikidata, used for automatic harvesting. Tools to analyse image view specifically are not yet available and user privacy is highly protected, limiting the disaggregation of user data. This study serves to document a lack of diversity in image availability for global online consumpti

Reactivating ARTIUM’s Collection: The Time-Image and Its Mode of Address as Prosthetic Pedagogy in Museums

This article reflects on a curatorial and pedagogical research project to reactivate ARTIUM’s contemporary art collection (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain) after a decade of acquisitions and institutionalization by seeking experimental involvement with difficult knowledge, through prosthetic pedagogy inspired in the time-image and paradoxical modes of address. Three moments of this project are discussed: (a) the selection and research of a number of artworks from the aforementioned collection; (b) the design of a museum space in ARTIUM’s Sala Este Baja; and (c) the activation of the exhibition space through a Laboratory of logics of vision

Moving Beyond Visitor and Usability Studies: Co-designing Inclusion in Museums and Galleries

Museums and galleries have made efforts to be more inclusive over the last ten years, primarily through the emphasis on visitor studies, however they continue to have issues with making their environments and content acces- sible. This research addresses these issues and presents an alternative approach to creating inclusion in museum and galleries through co-design. By using co- design methods to actively engage people with differing abilities, this study cre- ates new trajectories for inclusion that address the full spectrum of need and choice, for all users of the museum and gallery. Moving beyond visitor studies, the research presents new methods and strategies for museums and galleries when designing for inclusion. This paper presents key findings from case study research undertaken through the Vis-ability exhibition in Australia, to propose alternative ways of creating inclusion in museums and galleries, and how co- design can deepen our understanding of design for all