LOADED-OPEN: DIGITIZATION OF THOUSANDS OF ARTWORKS AND ARCHIVAL MATERIALS ENDS

10 Apr 2024

Digitization line of the Olomouc Museum of Art at the workplace in Kroměříž Castle

Over 80,000 books and works of art on paper have been digitized and offered to the general public thanks to the international project Loaded-Open. The digitisation, accessibility and educational use of art collections in memory institutions cost CZK 41.5 million, most of which – over CZK 37 million – was paid for by the EEA and Norway Grants. Between 2021 and 2024, the digitisation staff at the institutions involved in the project: the Moravian Library in Brno, the National Archives of Iceland and the Olomouc Museum of Art, which has its workplace in the Kroměříž castle and has hired an external company in Olomouc.

“Making our collections and the archbishop’s collections that we manage accessible is one of the priorities that we have been working on for a long time. We organise collection exhibitions, for which catalogues are published. And offering digitized works of art is an important part of these efforts. The project from the Norwegian Funds is one of the most important in these efforts,” said Ondřej Zatloukal, the director of the MUO.

The Loaded-Open project covers the digitisation of manuscript collections, early prints, old prints, graphics and music stored in the Archbishop’s Castle in Kroměříž. “From the collection of the Olomouc Museum of Art we have digitised substantial parts of the sub-collections of drawings, prints, old photographs and medals. This also includes part of the architecture collection, which is one of the largest in the Czech Republic and is of great interest to researchers,” said Marta Perůtková, head of the collection and documentation department of the MUO. The Moravian Library digitised music and first editions, while the National Archives of Iceland digitised documents, mostly drawings and maps. An integral part of the digitisation process is the conservation and restoration work carried out simultaneously by two departments of the Museum of Art (in Olomouc and Kroměříž) and the Moravian Library.

All participating institutions gradually publish the digitised works. The collection portal of the Olomouc Museum of Art is accessible from the museum’s website, the Moravian Library publishes in the Digital Library (Kramerius), and the National Archives of Iceland uses the Digital Resources application.

A fundamental part of the project is the use of digitized collections in education. It is not enough to make artworks or historical documents accessible, but also to actively offer them to schools and the public through attractive digital tools or cultural and educational activities. “Our lecturers have conducted more than 75 workshops, school education, animations and lectures for children, teachers and the professional public. They have compiled worksheets and methodological materials that are already in use, for example, at the Museum of the Novojičín Region or the Masaryk Museum in Hodonín,” says Marek Šobáň, head of the MUO’s education department. In addition, twelve concerts were held in Kroměříž and its surroundings, presenting important works from the precious Kroměříž Music Archive, which the Museum of Art manages

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Art collections can also be presented in virtual space. The Education Department of the MUO has teamed up with the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, which runs the INDIHU Exhibition application, an online tool for creating virtual multimedia exhibitions with interactive elements. It allows combining audiovisual material with interactive elements and creating presentations without the need to understand web design. It provides the application of a wide range of materials from images, videos, texts, maps, graphs, soundtracks and also offers the inclusion of games to increase interactivity. Olomouc museum lecturers have created a presentation in this programme, for example, revealing the creation of the painting Madonna with a Veil by Sebastiano del Piombo.

EHP AND NORWAY FUNDS

The EEA and Norway Grants are contributed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to help reduce economic and social disparities in the European Economic Area. Financial support is provided to 15 countries in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. An important way in which these funds differ from EU funds is the emphasis on sharing and exchange of experience between donor and recipient countries.

EHP AND NORWAY FUNDS

PROJECT IN POINTS

Loaded-Open. Digitisation, accessibility and educational use of art collections in memory institutions (KU-CH1-075)
Implementation period: 2021-2024
EEA Grants 2014-2021, Culture Programme
Total expenditure: 41 534 685 CZK
Grant amount: 37 381 216 CZK
Partners: Museum of Art Olomouc, Moravian Library in Brno, National Archives of Iceland, Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic

Loaded-Open. Digitisation, accessibility and educational use of art collections in memory institutions (KU-CH1-075)
Implementation period: 2021-2024
EEA Grants 2014-2021, Culture Programme
Total expenditure: 41 534 685 CZK
Grant amount: 37 381 216 CZK
Partners: Museum of Art Olomouc, Moravian Library in Brno, National Archives of Iceland, Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)