In addition to what Sarah said, I'll add that Google Arts & Culture was originally Google Art Project, and the interface still reflects that. It's very artwork- and object-oriented. So, for example, if you have an image from another repository that you want to use as part of a narrative online exhibition, you have to upload it as an item, which then shows up as one among your items. The Museum View feature has lost some of its functionality, as well--when we first launched with it, I spent several hours over a couple of days matching artifacts and historic images to their locations, a function that then went away with a later version. A new version of the virtual tour in Street View (different from the tour accessible in Google Arts & Culture) tries to automatically match artworks to items in your collection, with moderate success.
That said, the fact that it's a free tool where you do the uploads, etc. (so your costs will be staff time), and one that gets a decent amount of usage, is a big plus. Right now, we're using it as our virtual tour after we redesigned our website and took down a tour we had previously built in Flash. And we essentially use it as an artifact catalog, too.
Glad to talk with anyone else about the pluses and minuses!
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David McKenzie
Associate Director for Interpretive Resources
Ford's Theatre Society
Washington DC
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-16-2018 10:42 AM
From: Sarah Jencks
Subject: Google Arts and Culture
Google Arts & Culture has provided opportunities for us to create online exhibitions that we don't have space to share online. They have larger and/or different audiences than our site in D.C., and we have been able to get some (but not all we want) in the way of analytics so that we can measure and report out on our reach. However, Google makes changes to this platform on a regular basis, and they do not notify in advance. At times, these can really change the user interface and the ways that your exhibitions are experienced. So, if you are only using the object/image interface, you're probably okay, but if you're planning to build exhibitions, just be aware that you may need to keep an eye on them and make changes. Also, if you embed the exhibitions and images in your own website, be aware that they are not responsive to mobile devices - Google wants the traffic to theirs. Again, remember that this is their tool, and while it can be helpful, you are really providing them with content - they hold the reins. So long as you are aware of these potential bugaboos, it's a great tool.
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Sarah Jencks
Director of Education and Interpretation
Ford's Theatre Society
Washington DC
Original Message:
Sent: 02-14-2018 03:32 PM
From: Regina Lynch
Subject: Google Arts and Culture
Hello All,
I'm looking for experiences people have had with getting their museum on to Google Arts and Culture. Specifically, we're wondering what responsibilities end up falling with the institution and what responsibilities fall to Google. Any additional thoughts and experiences are welcome.
Many thanks
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Regina Lynch
Curator of Education
Biggs Museum of American Art
Dover DE
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