Five questions with... Lucy Schwartz from Google Arts & Culture
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What is your role and where does arts and culture fit in it?
I’m Head of UK partnerships for Google Arts & Culture. I have the privilege of working closely with over 100 cultural institutions of all sizes and types across Britain, helping them make use of technologies to preserve and promote their unique collections and stories.
Why is this partnership between Arts Council England and Google Arts & Culture important?
The partnership’s aim is to help cultural organisations across England develop their digital skills by setting up a series of workshops near to where they are based. This access to digital experts helps them to explore how technology can be used to help their organisations grow.
Why are digital skills so important for the cultural sector?
Digital technologies offer many opportunities for cultural organisations, including preserving their collections and sharing them around the world, engaging new audiences and creating interactive cultural experiences.
What is the most inspiring cultural project you’ve been involved in?
It is hard to choose! From my eight years at Google Arts & Culture, I’ve been honoured to collaborate with many inspiring institutions, artists and curators. One recent example would be Meet Vermeer, an online retrospective dedicated to Johannes Vermeer. Using Augmented Reality, it was the first time all of his works had been brought together in one place, largely thanks to the close collaboration of 17 institutions across seven countries.
What do you think is the most exciting development in tech on the horizon?
I’m fascinated by the possibilities new technologies open up, both in terms of artistic creation and developing new cultural experiences - from digitisation technologies to Augmented Reality and Machine Learning.
Join a training session…
Taking place across the country, the first two events are landing this November with more to follow early in 2020. Book your place today:
National Glass Centre, Sunderland - Tues 5 November
If you’d like any more information about the partnership or how the Digital Culture Network can help your organisation, email the Digital Culture Network or visit our webpage.
