The new opportunities humanity gets while society develops and technology grows are seemingly non-terminating. Obviously, many people like to benefit from the arising advantages and the positive side-effects. The World Wide Web is one of these technologies, that on the one hand remarkably facilitate our life and on the other hand lead to a more complex and intertwined system and to changes that can not be reversed.
In times of rapid growing technological progress civilization struggles with the issue of striking new paths to the future while at the same time fostering the own cultural heritage. For some people arts and culture are necessary, because they belong to their roots and are signs of their history, but opinions and notions about that theme vary widely. Still there are hotly debated problems relating to cultural policy – Heilbrun & Gray (2011) argue that arts and culture are caught in a materialistic world (p. 3) which is the reason why they always have to deal with a mighty term called ‘money’. But when thinking about culture and heritage, it is not just about keeping the past in mind and preserving ancient monuments. It is also about actively promoting the arts and culture, that currently come into existence. Technologies arise and so do arts. How to cope now with balancing between past and future, heritage and progress, art and high-tech? Bringing something forward means spending time on it, participating in it and therefore reinforcing it. A modern world needs people who get involved and that is why participation may be one of the pivotal things needed for generating a successful future.
By taking a look at the current situation, I want to examine the special relationship between the use of the internet and participation in arts and culture. What do we understand by thinking of the term ‘cultural participation’ and for which reasons is it so important to participate? Which tool does the internet provide to influence and increase cultural participation and which examples can be made for that? After a general overview, the demand position will be adapted on the concrete example of the Netherlands.
The results may create the basis for developing future scenarios and investigating questions like whether the web's popularity is able to create more popularity for cultural participation or if just the internet's degree of esteem will grow further without any impacts on culture.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: Between cultural heritage and technological advance
2. Cultural participation: a definition
3. The internet and its influence on cultural participation
3.1 Information: Supporting ‘traditional forms’ of participation in arts and culture
3.2 Creation: Supporting ‘digital forms’ of participation in arts and culture
3.3 Status Quo in the Netherlands
4. Conclusion
Objectives and Research Themes
This work examines the evolving relationship between the internet, particularly Web 2.0 technologies, and the level of public participation in arts and cultural activities. The primary research goal is to determine how digital platforms can serve as catalysts to increase engagement, preserve cultural heritage, and facilitate new forms of collaborative creative expression.
- The intersection of cultural heritage and rapid technological advancement.
- Definitions and theoretical frameworks of cultural participation.
- The internet as a medium for information dissemination and its impact on traditional cultural engagement.
- The rise of User-Generated-Content (UGC) and digital platforms as spaces for artistic creation.
- Policy and practical initiatives for digital cultural participation in the Netherlands.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 Creation: Supporting ‘digital forms’ of participation in arts and culture
According to UNESCO definitions is “reading and using computer and the Internet” already a part of the term ‘cultural participation’ (UNESCO UIS 2006b, in: UNESCO: institute for statistics, 2009, p. 45) and therefore to be seen as a completely accepted component of culture and community. But meanwhile the internet also constitutes an “invaluable production factor in the creative industries” (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, 2006, p. 158), as it provides many ways to create new forms of digital cultural participation. One of these forms is the enormous mass of UGC which is produced on blogs, photo and video services and other social media platforms. As it is told in Anderson (2007), sharing multimedia content is one of the biggest growing scopes on the net, supporting the production of short movies, photos and podcasts (p. 10) by amateurs as well as by professionals. In this chapter we will have a short look at deviantART, Behance, Life in a day and Flickr. These examples should emphasize the enormous impact the internet can have on creating arts and culture and fostering heritage on the web space.
According to Manovich (2011) art has never been so “commercially successful”, he even declares contemporary art as “another form of mass culture” (p. 329). This may be true by having a look at online art platforms like Behance and deviantART. These count as interactive art platforms, made up by designers, artists and IT specialists to offer participants a space to form a “dynamic media [artefact; the author] that grows with the creative input from the social environment” (Hu et. al., 2013, p. 179). In Manovich's (2011) view, art works that can be found there, constitute “the most innovative cultural production done today”, especially regarding the fact that not everything on these sites was made by professionals (p. 330). By referring to the platform processing.org, he also mentions that there is a space for artistic newcomers to exhibit their work, where they have a large audience and where they can co-evolve things with other artists, generating a sound performance (p. 330).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Between cultural heritage and technological advance: This chapter introduces the tension between preserving historical cultural roots and embracing the rapid pace of technological innovation in a media-driven society.
2. Cultural participation: a definition: This section provides a conceptual foundation by defining cultural participation as a fundamental human right, while differentiating between active and passive forms of involvement.
3. The internet and its influence on cultural participation: This chapter analyzes how digital connectivity reshapes interaction with culture, focusing on information access and community engagement.
3.1 Information: Supporting ‘traditional forms’ of participation in arts and culture: This part explores the internet's role as a primary information medium that lowers barriers to access for traditional cultural events and institutions.
3.2 Creation: Supporting ‘digital forms’ of participation in arts and culture: This section investigates platforms like deviantART and Flickr, which enable new collaborative and digital modes of artistic creation.
3.3 Status Quo in the Netherlands: This chapter examines specific Dutch national initiatives and funding models designed to digitize cultural heritage and support institutional ICT strategies.
4. Conclusion: The concluding chapter summarizes how digital tools offer immense potential for cultural growth, while stressing the need for a media-reflective approach to future technological developments.
Keywords
Cultural participation, World Wide Web, Web 2.0, digital media, cultural heritage, social media, User-Generated-Content, information society, digital natives, Netherlands, E-culture, artistic creation, online platforms, digital transformation, cultural policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this publication?
The work explores how the internet and Web 2.0 technologies influence and potentially increase public participation in arts and culture.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The publication covers digital media integration, cultural heritage preservation, online artistic communities, and government-led cultural policy initiatives.
What is the main research question of the text?
The author investigates how the World Wide Web can act as a tool to facilitate, support, and expand participation in traditional and digital cultural activities.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
The research is based on a qualitative synthesis of literature, cultural policy documents, and an analysis of case studies involving specific digital platforms.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body covers the theoretical definition of cultural participation, the role of social media as information hubs, the rise of collaborative digital creative platforms, and the status of digitization efforts in the Netherlands.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include cultural participation, Web 2.0, digital media, cultural heritage, social media, User-Generated-Content, and cultural policy.
How does the author define 'digital forms' of participation?
The author refers to digital forms as activities that utilize the internet not just for information gathering, but as a production factor for creating and sharing art, such as multimedia production on blogs or collaborative platforms.
What role does the Netherlands play in this analysis?
The Netherlands serves as a specific case study to illustrate how national financial support and institutional knowledge centers, like DEN and virtueel platform, actively promote the digitization of cultural heritage.
Does the author believe the internet guarantees increased cultural interest?
The author expresses caution, noting that while the internet provides the necessary tools for growth, it does not deductively imply that popularity for cultural participation will naturally increase without a reflective and strategic approach.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Bachelor of Arts Anna-Theresa Lienhardt (Autor:in), 2013, Arts, culture and digital media. The World Wide Web and its influence on cultural participation, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/279981
