The Technical Infrastructure of Cultural Initiatives on Wikimedia: Three Case Studies From Brazil Cover Image

The Technical Infrastructure of Cultural Initiatives on Wikimedia: Three Case Studies From Brazil
The Technical Infrastructure of Cultural Initiatives on Wikimedia: Three Case Studies From Brazil

Author(s): Éder Porto Alves, Solange Ferraz De Lima, Michael William Peel, João Alexandre Peschanski, Paul R. Burley
Subject(s): Media studies, Information Architecture, Culture and social structure , Sociology of Culture
Published by: ESSACHESS
Keywords: Wikimedia; cultural initiatives; technical infrastructure; digital preservation; digital dissemination;

Summary/Abstract: We use the concept of cultural movements as a theoretical basis to reflect on the sociotechnical infrastructure of three Wikimedia initiatives in Brazil: the photography contest Wiki Loves Monuments, the National Museum Cross-Wiki Project and the Museu Paulista GLAM-Wiki partnership. We analyse how they were organised and how their workflow is coordinated in a collaborative environment. We also present their strategies for the preservation of cultural heritage collections and for the innovation in content dissemination. The evidence points to the relevance of Wikidata—a collaborative, open database—for structuring information and optimising coordination and crowdsourcing. It also points to the importance of establishing mechanisms for shared curatorship between the Wikimedia community and cultural institutions.

  • Issue Year: 15/2022
  • Issue No: 29 (1)
  • Page Range: 127-151
  • Page Count: 26
  • Language: English