EMM’s third Living Lab workshop took place in Laulasmaa, a peaceful seaside resort near Tallinn, on 17th and 18th August. The workshop was called Empowering Learning with AR, and it focussed teachers' involvement in the work of the museum. EMM set out to chart the needs of teachers and collectively generate ideas for an AR (augmented reality) solution that could bring museum content into the classroom in captivating and educationally effective ways. The goal of the EMM Living Lab pilot is for mu…

On June 15, EMM held their second LivingLabs workshop, this time in the studios of the VIVITA Creativity Accelerator for youth. The workshop was carried out in cooperation with VIVITA. Children and young adults between the ages 11-23 were invited along as co-creators (and eventual end users) of the designed pilot product. Other workshop participants included GLAM sector representatives and three digital innovators, companies that engage in extended reality solutions.The aim of the second LL work…

Between May and June, the team at Museo del Tessuto di Prato held a series of bilateral co-creation workshops to engage more people in the definition and implementation of the proposed business model the museum is working on in the context of the RECHARGE project. The meetings saw the participation of seven artisans, designers and companies working with upcycling, circular materials and sustainable production processes, engaged with creative recovery and reuse of discarded fabric, with social su…

Thoughts after the field trip carried out by Sound & Vision's RECHARGE team-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------At Sound & Vision's we believe that understanding the ins and outs of the daily work of cultural heritage spaces, such as museums, is important to better develop the work and the team contributions to the project. So, on the 5th of April 2023 we set out on our fir…

The concept of ‘business model’ has more haters than lovers, especially in the cultural sector (we analysed some of the reasons here). Still, looking at how it has been framed by scholars, it may resonate with many institutions and people. Within RECHARGE, we aim at a clearer and fairer use of the terms, and this is why we want to define it for CHIs, in all its nuances.In general, a business model is defined as a (logical) story that explains who the customers of an organisation are and what the…

A guest post by Ance Skolniece and Maisie Nijveen, students at Erasmus University Rotterdam, reporting on the Concept Harmonisation workshop the project held in March to align the activities and views of our researchers and partners.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hi there, we are Ance and Maisie, two students participating in the Arts & Culture Honours Programme at Erasmus University Rotterdam. For our Honours project, …

Finding and testing innovative business models for cultural institutions is what we do at RECHARGE, with our Living Labs as core functioning units. What is Museo del Tessuto di Prato working on and how is the institution establishing its own ad-hoc procedures?-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------MdT's position stems out of a firm belief: museums need new revenue streams and they also need to ser…

RECHARGE wants to individuate, study and develop sustainable business models for cultural institutions, and our three Living Labs - The Hunt, Museo del Tessuto di Prato and Estonian Maritime Museum - are the very first places where these models are shaped and trialled. Time to learn more about them - first off: The Hunt Museum.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The participatory business model…

The first co-creation workshop held at the Living Lab of the Estonian Maritime Museum took place on Thursday 11 May at the historic Tallinn Seaplane Harbour. It saw the participation of 20 people: museum professionals, librarians and representatives of tech companies we want to involve in the project.The event was moderated by Ragnar Siil from Creativity Lab. First, Ragnar introduced the RECHARGE project and went into details explaining the concept of our core operating system, the Living Labs. …

RECHARGE stemmed out from an urgency: understanding how business models can be developed that fit the cultural heritage sector, to help CH institutions shape their activities and plans to retain their central role for the social and cultural life of global and local communities. For that to happen, the concept of ‘business model’ needed to be understood and embraced.As we started brainstorming, the conversations within the consortium and also with other professionals in the sector made clear how…