Interactions
March 22-25, 2006
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Interactions: Description

Using Open Source Software to Facilitate Collaboration Among Artists, Exhibitors and Patrons

Michael Knapp, GreenRiver.org, USA
Ellis Neder, Sway Design, USA
http://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org

With the advent of wikis, blogs, bulletin boards and content management systems, Web sites are moving beyond simple information presentation and evolving into spaces for on-line collaboration. Using open source software, museums can enable the kind of participant editing that wikis inspire, and offer an extensive class of functional objects such as blogs, calendars and galleries that allow users to display and manage their own content. This collaborative approach promotes effective three-way communication among artist, exhibitor and patron, and creates a platform for developing on-line exhibits built from user participation. The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), a foundation established in 1963 by Jasper Johns and John Cage to promote and support the work of other artists, uses a collaborative approach for its on-line presentation of artist grantees. Individuals receiving awards from the foundation are given their own pages on the FCA Web site where they can edit their biographical information, add images of their artwork, and update a list of their recent exhibitions and performances without relying on the foundation's staff. The FCA site, built through the collaboration of its grantees, is consistent with the spirit of community the foundation strives to create.

Mini-Workshop: Wikis [Users]

Keywords: Open source, wiki, blog, content management systems, personalization, customization, collaboration, artists, museums