Art Histories and Big Data

Aim and Description

This convening brings together scholars and experts from the humanities, computer science, information studies and the cultural heritage sector interested in bridging between digital technologies and the histories of art and culture.

The workshop has several inter-related goals: one, through forging connections between existing institutional projects and building upon lessons learned by these projects, to identify best practices in the field, including those related to digital infrastructure, methods, and tools. In particular, we are seeking to identify ways in which data sets created by individual projects might be more effectively accessed and shared, utilizing the promising innovations of Linked Open Data. Two, the creation of data, infrastructure, methods, and tools cannot be separated from intellectual inquiry. We seek to understand how digital technologies can advance research questions in art history and cultural heritage and, in turn, how the leading challenges in art history and cultural heritage might drive innovations in digital technologies. Third, in order for this nascent and promising field to develop in a robust manner, we must attend to training the rising generation of art historians and technologists to ensure that they are well prepared for the intensive collaborations and acquisition of new knowledge entailed in bridging between digital technologies and the histories of art and culture.