Verde Valley School’s Post

CHRISTMAS MORNING REFLECTIONS ON MEMORY, FANTASY, AND "MY SECRET LIFE" Of Time, Memory, Evidence, and Fantasy Dec 25 Written By James Castagnera I’m writing this Blog entry on Christmas morning… less than three months since my wife Joey died. I am fortunate to be surrounded by family. A cloud of memories surrounds me too. What exactly is memory? Memory refers to the psychological processes of acquiring, storing, retaining, and later retrieving information. Memory involves three major processes: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Human memory involves the ability to both preserve and recover information. However, this is not a flawless process. Sometimes people forget or misremember things. Other times, information is not properly encoded in memory in the first place. - VeryWellMind READ MORE: https://lnkd.in/eJ-HBmMk PHOTO: Joey and me at the "Shape of Time" exhibition, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2023

I am excited to share my latest blog post titled "Visualizing World War II." This piece delves into the numerous ways we can interpret and understand the complexities of this pivotal event in history through visual representation. By examining various historical images, maps, and artifacts, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the impact of World War II and how it has shaped our world today. I invite you to explore these insights and reflections. You can read the full post here: [Visualizing World War II](https://ift.tt/FeVvTYt)

Art! Science! Ona research vessel! If you are curious about art/science intersection, check this out! You can try some of the techniques looking at some of the recorded dives too if you fancy it 🎨

Whether digital or analogue, creating the perfect color requires both scientific and artistic skill.

SNEAK PEEK Yesterday, members of the Slow Looking Club got an exclusive first look at the 10 Questioning Practices featured in my upcoming book, The Art Engager: Reimagining Guided Experiences in Museums. We even used one of them, The Perspectives Triangle, to explore this photograph by Imelda Schoutens. Questioning Practices are intentionally designed structures that foster engagement and inquiry in guided museum experiences. Tailored specifically for the museum context, they offer adaptable ways to spark meaningful discussions around art and objects, encouraging observation, critical thinking, and personal discovery. The 10 Questioning Practices in my book are versatile, flexible, and can be adjusted based on the object, audience, or programme goals. What makes them unique is that every time we use a Questioning Practice, we infuse something of ourselves into it - whether it’s our personal style of asking questions, facilitating discussions, or creating a welcoming atmosphere. I can’t wait to share all 10 with you in just a few weeks!

Access granted. #SmithsonianOpenAccess, that is! Explore and download millions of the Smithsonian Institution’s images right now, without needing to ask. With new platforms and tools, you can easily access over 4.9 million 2D and 3D digital items from the collections, including images and data from 21 museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives, and the National Zoo. #OpenGovernment #OpenScience https://lnkd.in/eRDV9v_i

History is not just an assemblage of dates, events, and names; it's the collective story of humanity, shaping our present and influencing our future. However, for centuries, history has often been told from a narrow perspective, omitting crucial voices and perspectives, leaving only fragments of the whole story. When parts of the story are missing, history loses its vibrancy, leaving a distorted reflection of reality. Uncovering overlooked perspectives gives us a more nuanced understanding of the past and its implications on the present. In this week’s Destinology, we explore how the Missouri History Museum brought a more comprehensive story of the 1904 World’s Fair to life in a new exhibit with the help of Ria Unson, a local artist with a personal connection to the Fair. #insights #storytelling #worldsfair

Where is the care in our collections? Not just in physical preservation, but in how we preserve knowledge using language. Problematic language, like “ethnographic”, is still being used in our databases. This problem is only getting multiplied. Because I see people falling into the same pitfalls… The truth is that much of our UK collections rest on histories of exploitation, especially of the global South, upholding a white-centric narrative. ❌ And I’m seeing more and more organisations rush to digitise their collections WITHOUT taking a necessary level of care ❌ Care for users about allowing people to choose how they interact with your collections. 💜 Imagine a digital collection that gives context, displays trigger warnings, or even blurs sensitive content—helping users engage intentionally with our shared past. 💜 These should be built into your digitalisation projects as a priority from the start! I encourage more people to start questioning this as we digitise collections: 👉 When was the last time you checked the terminology, descriptions, and labels used to describe items in the global majority collection? 👉 Are you being mindful of how data collection and usage impact marginalised people? 👉 If we’re not embedding care into our museum structures, what are we building instead? #MuseumEthics #Collections #Museums #Inclusivity #Decolonisation

History is supposed to be shared and studied, not hidden and erased. Continue supporting libraries, archives, and museums, especially local organizations/institutions and those that contribute to digitization initiatives (i.e. HathiTrust, Internet Archive). These entities help in preserving history as it is, so we can learn and grow from the past. https://lnkd.in/eWvwYp7t

The temporary exhibition developed by the MEMORISE_EU project at the Gedenkstätte Bergen-Belsen displays prisoner art, testimonies and material objects that give voice to unheard voices 🎙️and assist visitors in exploring the many layers of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp‘s history. It demonstrates the potential of digital technology to provide access to heritage of Nazi persecution through 3D models, augmented reality, digital platforms, interactive explorers and digital storytelling. 🖌️Users can explore a painting of the former prisoner Ervin Abadi by zooming into details, examining compositional layers and deriving historical information from Abadi‘s visualisation of the camp. The interactive story „Ceija Stojka‘s Paintings“ allows users to learn about the memories of the Roma Holocaust survivor, artist and activist‘s memories through her unique paintings. #visualhistory #digitalhistory #digitalheritage #digitalmemory #holocausteducation