Participation in Cultural Heritage Hackathons: ‘Carsharing’ Between ‘Meaningful Nonsense’ and ‘Unromantic’ Networking

Mucha, F. (2021) Participation in Cultural Heritage Hackathons: ‘Carsharing’ Between ‘Meaningful Nonsense’ and ‘Unromantic’ Networking. In: First International Conference, RISE IMET 2021, Nicosia, Cyprus, 2-4 June 2021, pp. 269-281. ISBN 9783030836467 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-83647-4_18)

Abstract

This paper addresses the question why hackers participate in cultural heritage hackathons and argues for a participant-centered shift in qualitative research of digitally-enabled participation in the cultural sector. It is based on an ethnographic study of the Coding da Vinci West hackathon, including participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Three interrelated motivational factors of hackers were identified: the role in which they join, the hackathon characteristics they build on, and the connection with culture they strive for. Two groups of hackers formed around these factors: one hobby-oriented group interested in creative doing and one work-oriented group driven by professional networking. Their relations with cultural heritage institutions were either outcome-oriented or process-oriented. While the social aspect of hackathons was important for all hackers, the relevance of learning and doing were unequally distributed. However, the study also found that mostly cultural digital experts participated in the hackathon. Building on previous research, a stronger emphasis on mediating skillful practices and an invitation process based on ‘areas of curiosity’ instead of predefined skilled roles would potentially speak to a wider group of participants and thus support the goals of opening up collections through digitization more effectively.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mucha, Ms Franziska
• Authors: Mucha, F.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Information Studies
• ISSN: 1865-0929
• ISBN: 9783030836467
• Published Online: 03 August 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

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