Emanuella, Siobhan, Ella and Josh spent a sunny winters day at the Ashburton Museum and Art Gallery for the 2019 Canterbury Regional Digital Forum ‘Un-Conference.’ The morning was spent listening to short presentations on a range of topics. These had a big focus on collection access and management, with a number of presenters discussing how they are currently updating or shifting their collection systems to make them more accessible. Ashburton Museum’s own team of Connor Lysaght and Tanya Robinson seemed to steal the show with their presentation on how they are using a variety of open-source software from KnightLab to build digital apps and experiences to intertwine with the museum collection and exhibitions programme.
The second part of the day saw everyone break out into smaller groups to discuss topics that each attendee identified as being of particular interest to them. These again varied in scope and detail, and were often able to canvas topics on totally different tangents – deviations that are simply par-for-the-cause of this ‘un-conference’ style of get together. These smaller discussions particularly allowed groups and individuals from smaller institutions (often with little financial backing) to share and gather information on topics pertinent to them, or simply make new connections that may spark something bigger in the future.
The highlight of the day however was surely after lunch when Tim Jones of the Christchurch Art Gallery organised a group quiz for everyone using the online platform Kahoot. Competition was fierce, with our own Ella Beckett taking out the top honours, with the rest of the team feeling more than a little bamboozled.
Thanks to the Ashburton Museum and Gallery team for hosting everyone, and to Airi Hashimoto and Tim Jones of the Christchurch Art Gallery for organising and facilitating another great ‘un-conference’.
The next Regional Digital Forum will be held in Auckland on Monday 19th August. Find out more information here.