Page 285 - AC/E's Digital Culture Annual Report 2015

AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report 2015285projects, insofar as they are designed for a large community that surpasses the boundaries of the local, cannot be disassociated from technology. Web platforms used for this purpose ensure that projects reach anywhere in the world, democ- ratising participation, extending the support network and increasing the chances of success exponentially. The platforms that are most widely used for crowdfunding are Indiegogo in the United States, Art Fund – which specialises in artistic micropatronage – in the United Kingdom, and Verkami and Goteo in Spain. Some museums prefer to set up specific sites or include these projects on their own websites, managing them directly. This is chiefly the case with crowdsourcing and crowdcurating.Crowdsourcing refers to putting together projects to which the community contributes work and knowledge, but not money. Museums have used crowdsourcing to carry out research and information-gathering projects or simplyto obtain new ideas that enhance a particular action.We can take crowdcurating to mean initia-tives in which museum institutions request collaboration from their network of users to “curate” content or exhibitions. Submitting a photograph, a theme or a concept that later materialises into an exhibition, either onlineor in the museum’s institution, involves users, converts them into producers as well as consum- ers, broadens viewpoints and distributes tasks among the community.Sometimes the terms crowdsourcing and crowd- curating are mixed up or used for the same purpose, as the difference in meaning is fairlysubtle. Both normally involve asking the public to supply content. The difference lies in the use to which the content is put, as crowdcurating is usually much more specific: exhibitions.These practices have become widespread over the past few years, with a large number of success stories, chiefly in the English-speaking countries. Examples in other countries are also increasing, revealing the major benefits of this new museum which makes its content global and whose community is no longer local but includes people from all over the world.Museums listen to and wish to hear from their audiences and want them to take part in their running. What is more, users themselves are calling for involvement in cultural management with individual contributions that generate collective value.5.1.CrowdfundingOne of the best known calls for crowdfunding was made by the Nikola Tesla Museum in 2012, through the Indiegogo platform. The aim was to raise 850,000 dollars to buy the former laboratory of the scientist Nikola Tesla. The campaign was a huge success. It raised 1.4 million dollars, and received a matching grant from New York State, on condition that the museum remained there.In the end enough money was raised to buy the laboratory, though it was insufficient to turnit into a museum with all the desired facilities. Therefore, in 2014178 a new campaign was staged for funding the final part of the project.Focus 2015. Museums and New Technologies