This article examines 8 suggestions for museums to implement well-rounded digital projects for their audiences that are specific to the online context. The suggestions are based off of the research in my white paper, as well as the preliminary article exploring what digital offerings are popular in the museum landscape today.

Find the white paper, Bridging the Gap Between Digital Native Modes of Learning and the Traditional Museum Ritual here, for more information and a deeper look into the research.

Suggestions for Implementation of Digital Projects

In the previous two sections, I outlined a case for how we might reimagine and reconceptualize what museum digital offerings are, and why they are there. In this section, I aim to provide practical suggestions for museum administrators who wish to begin developing digital projects. While having a grounded and educated basis on the reasoning behind a digital transformation is important, so too is effectively knowing how to execute it. The following are 8 suggestions informed primarily by interviews with museum professionals who have experience with digital initiatives.

1. There must be institutional buy-in for a digital project to be successful.

While there are many components to making a digital project successful, overwhelmingly, interview feedback was consistent that organizational buy-in was crucial. Even if the necessary funds for a project are there, if no one at an institution supports or understands the value of a digital project, it will likely not be successful. Part of this bleeds into organizational priorities and whether or not they already have the digital expansion or new digital initiatives in their strategic plan. One interviewee, a senior archivist at a contemporary art institution, mentioned “A lot of it is first making sure that the people who are involved in your institution support something like that–and that they will see it through.”

2. Put it in the Strategic Plan

Similarly to the first suggestion, if the museum does not have a well-thought-out strategy that includes goals, expectations, and evaluation metrics, the project is less likely to be successful. Having a strategic plan that encompasses digital initiatives is also a way to show staff that it is part of the organizational culture, and increase staff buy-in. Additionally, the strategic plan serves as how the organization connects digital initiatives to its mission–which is the launching point for beginning any project. Digital initiatives (including the who, what, and why) should be a precursor to applying for grant funding for such projects.

3. Thoroughly plan (and imagine) what you want to do digitally and why: Develop a vision

Why do you want to create a digital project? Is it to extend your reach? Help artists with exposure? Create more communication among visitors? Have an archive of works? Clearly spell out, at the very beginning of the process, what the value of the digital initiative is, and how it could help support the museum’s mission. Knowing the why would allow room to get creative in planning what it might actually look like–a crucial part of this step is considering how it will be interacted with, what it will look like, and what kind of technological infrastructure is necessary to achieve such a vision.

“I think what institutions should be doing now is really being thoughtful about what they want their presence online to be and what they want the experience to be. Making sure it lines up with, the experience they want to give and the mission of the institution as a whole. And then thinking about how that can just amplify and expand everything that they do”

4. If contracting outside web development or design firms, do your research before hiring.

Because most museums do not have whole departments, and often have no staff, specifically dedicated to web programming and design, these initiatives are often executed by outside contractors. It is important to vet these contractors and find the right fit for your organization. Research whether they have worked with museums before, and in what capacity they have engaged with art and web design. Having an experienced web developer can make a huge difference in how the vision comes to life on the web. Companies like Balboa Park Online Collaborative are specifically geared toward developing digital projects for arts organizations.

5. Make room in the budget for regular maintenance

Digital initiatives and projects are often grant-funded. However, their funding typically only covers the creation and implementation of the project. Many digital projects, such as the Hammer Channel, create a need for consistent maintenance and development. Philip Leers of the Hammer Museum mentioned that the cost of maintaining the Hammer Channel had to be written into the yearly budget, and was a similar cost to maintaining the museum website. Many digital initiatives cannot survive on a one-time allocation of funds, so planning in advance to make room in the budget is crucial to its survival.

6. recruit board members who have experience in web design.

As the digital presence of museums is not going away anytime soon, it is extremely useful to have board members who can provide advice on digital initiatives. One interviewee mentioned that much of the difficulty in their digital project was not knowing what was even possible before contracting a design firm. A web-savvy board member could provide some key advice at the initial stages of planning, and may also be helpful in the contractor selection process.

7. Hire digital officers

Digital museum departments will only become more commonplace in the future. It may be crucial to have in-house digital experience representatives with well-developed skills in the web and digital department in order to keep pace with where the museum world is headed. When considering staffing structures and budget, this should be a point of conversation for any museum. A digital department is a true asset for museums–in 2020, “43% of art museums, had either no dedicated digital staff or this department was represented by a single individual.” (Knight Foundation).

8. Think outside the boundaries of what already exists.

As Bruce Mau mentioned, “now that we can do anything, what will we do?” (Mau, 2004). While of course, there are limits to what we can achieve given financial and technological restraints, there are incredibly vast opportunities for new and innovative engagement with art online. Brainstorm, ask others, and include community voices–consider digital strategies creatively, and on the axes of both curatorial and community engagement practices.

Conclusion

Contemporary art museums are not currently meeting new modes of learning that have emerged as the public’s relationship with technology has changed. They can meet this challenge readily via their digital offerings, which “offer the opportunity to do more–offer deeper, different, or competing interpretations; avenues to explore further; chances to look and think in ways not conducive to a linear gallery setting.” (Hoffman, 2020). As audiences shift, museums must reconceptualize what their relationship with the public will be, and how the ritual of the museum experience may change. Flexibility in this ritual will allow museums to reach wider audiences, and impact younger generations and others through their work.

Broughton, Rachel. “Digital Stewardship Is the Future for Contemporary Art Museums.” AMT Lab @ CMU (blog), December 13, 2022. https://amt-lab.org/blog/2022/10/digital-stewardship-contemporary-art-museums.
“Digital Readiness and Innovation in Museums,” 2020, Knight Foundation, accessed December 9, 2022, https://knightfoundation.org/reports/digital-readiness-and-innovation-in-museums/.
Bruce Mau, Massive Change (London ; Phaidon, 2004).
Sheila K. Hoffman, “Online Exhibitions during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Museum Worlds 8, no. 1 (2020): 210–15, https://doi.org/10.3167/armw.2020.080115.