SEARCHER - The Art of Associative Searching

Project description

SEARCHER is an interactive installation that explores digital collections as forms of participatory curation. The project designs ways to foster new readings of the collection through interpretation and engagement. To facilitate this, we bring together layers of (machine-learning) techniques to analyse interconnections within collection holdings. Given that the museum's frontend grants access to only a fraction of its holdings through fixed displays and long-serving narratives, the project argues for more open circulation of search, stories, and sharing within museums. Inspired by the image atlases of Aby Warburg (1866–1929) – which mapped visual themes across time through 'alliances of attraction'– SEARCHER reimagines the visual map as a curatorial 'thinking space', where searching and finding become spatial and social acts. The aim is to challenge the notion that collection search has defined boundaries and instead to embrace serendipity — finding something you were not initially searching for. This concept is integral to the installation's performative function, where your chosen set of objects, written queries, or contextualisation of your findings opens new avenues for inquiry. Consequently, the installation builds off of your search, uncovering hidden relationships that emerge and evolve over time.

Objective

- Innovation

Priorities

- Digital access