Museums+Tech 2024 — Who is this for? And why should they care?

Friday December 6 2024

9am – 5pm, Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum, Millennium Point, Curzon St, Birmingham B4 7XG

Conference theme

Audience-centred work is something that is championed in our field, but isn’t every project for an audience? We have projects which can feel like they lack focus if the audience is ‘everyone’, or hyper-localised target audiences which may seem too niche.

How do we know that the intended audience actually cares, and can actually show the value of the work?

In the digital realm we have different ways of identifying audiences. Do those remote audiences who never visit compare to the physically visiting audience? Can we compare and measure their impact?

Do we change to suit changing audiences, or do we stay constant and bring audiences to us?

As Computer based practitioners, we also must be aware of the societal impact on technology. New tools and systems allow us to reach new audiences, but do we exclude others by our choices and requirements?

Our conference theme in 2024 set out to directly allow us to discuss the idea of who our audiences are, and show how we make them value our museums. We are living in an interesting and difficult time as we must define and display our value, not just against competing audience interests but also internally to funding bodies. We want to hear how you are identifying audiences and connecting with them, and proving that success. Together we can share to improve our sector.

Videos of all of 2024’s conference talks can be found on our YouTube channel.

Programme

9:00 – 9:50 Registration

10:00 Welcome address

10:10 Keynote: Content Design London

• Rich Prowse, Director of Practice at Content Design London (CDL) and a champion of human-centered design.

11:00 Session 1: Audiences in Practice

• We built it they came. Jo Duggan, Senior Content Producer, Victoria and Albert Museum
• The Museum & The Creator Economy. Nik Wyness, Head of Marketing and Engagement, The Tank Museum
• 10 tips for how a digital project run by a small team can lead to a big organisational shift. Eva Liparova, Freelance Product Leader
• Science in the Making: Inspiring the next generation. Lou Carroll, Producer, Cogapp
• Audiences in Practice panel discussion

12:15 Lunch & Museums Computer Group AGM

13:15 Session 2 Data and Theory

• Sponsor Talk: manifesto Connecting with new audiences. Speaker: Lou Barton, Digital Strategist at manifesto, the award-winning digital experience agency is bringing a wealth of expertise in marketing and digital strategy to this practical session. Lou will explore how museums and galleries can not only identify but truly understand and connect with both existing and untapped audiences.
• Getting to know the digital audience for a national art collection. Jennifer Thomas, Audience Data Analyst, Art UK
• Who is our digital storytelling really for, and why? The long view. Anra Kennedy, The Audience Agency
• Who is it for, and why should they care? The Balanced Value Impact Model. Simon Tanner, Professor of Digital Cultural Heritage, Kings Collage London
• Creating Digital Intimacy: A Polyvocal Audio Guide Workshop. Theresa Kneppers, Curator, London South Bank University
• Data and Theory panel discussion

15:00 Session 3 Taking it to the people

• Sponsor Talk: Numiko Getting your hands dirty – The importance of community engagement in digital projects: Numiko will present a case study on how they are approaching user research and discovery for the British Museum’s FINDS platform, which serves the Portable Antiquities Scheme. This will highlight the value of taking an ethnographic approach to understand the needs of the fascinating detectorist community.
• Building a ‘200 Creators’ network for the National Gallery’s Bicentenary – and beyond. Ellie Wyant, Social Media and Community Manager, National Gallery
• The Psychology of the Audio Guide: The National Gallery x Smartify’s New Approach to Interpretation Testing. Molly Skinner, Head of Content, Smartify and Beks Leary, Senior Content Manager, National Gallery
• Impact as artefact: A personal approach to capturing and sharing cultural heritage. Katrina Rolley, Digital Learning & Engagement Consultant
• Taking it to the people panel discussion

4:00 Closing Keynote

• Josie Fraser, Head of Digital Policy, National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Josie’s keynote will look at The Heritage Fund’s approach in the context of recent policy directions and recommendations relating to digitisation, digital resources and collections, and the challenges to our understanding of the digital commons and digital public good that current technological and social changes pose. Digital is a key priority for the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and how we fund digital projects forms an important part of our core approach to grantmaking and supporting UK culture. This talk will explore how our ‘available, accessible, and open’ grant requirements deliver public value, better represent and connect to audiences, and create lasting impact.

16:45 Closing address

17:00 Pub