How can museums use digital technology to reach new audiences? How can media and technology be used to serve a wide range of visitors, including those with disabilities?

Join Cultural Connections for a moderated panel featuring a variety of museum professionals engaged in digital initiatives, ranging from augmented reality to exhibition media to accessible websites and mobile applications.  

Program:

• 6:00-6:30pm networking activity and refreshments (Global Museum, Fine Arts 203)
  
• 6:30-7:30pm moderated panel and audience Q&A (J. Paul Leonard Library, LIB 121)
  

Panelists:

Andrew Lau, Digital Project Director, Asian Art Museum

Andrew Lau’s work centers on the intersections of technology, culture, and information. As Digital Project Director at the Asian Art Museum, he oversees a variety of digital programs, with a particular emphasis on accessibility. The Asian Art Museum recently formed an access and inclusion taskforce, and has developed strategies for making their institution (including web and media content) more accessible for visitors with disabilities. Andrew previously served as Program Director for Instructional Content Development for UCLA Extension, and has taught online and hybrid courses in the areas of new media, digital curation, archival studies, and documentation practices.

Rita Lucarelli, Faculty Curator of Egyptology, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology and Associate Professor of Near Eastern Studies, UC Berkeley

Egyptologist Rita Lucarelli is a professor of Near Eastern Studies and curator at the Hearst Museum at UC Berkeley, where she also serves as a Fellow of the Digital Humanities. She is currently working on a major research initiative titled “The Book of the Dead in 3D,” where she works with a team of graduate students to produce 3D models of ancient Egyptian coffins in museum collections through the process of photogrammetry. This research allows for improved translations and understanding of these objects, and is also used to create immersive virtual experiences. Prior to coming to Berkeley, Rita has held research scholar and lecturer positions at multiple international institutions, including the University of Verona, Italy, the University of Bonn, Germany, and the University of Bari, Italy.   

Nicole Minor, Director of Moving Images, the Exploratorium

Nicole Minor oversees the Moving Images department at the Exploratorium, a group of media content creators who produce videos, live webcasts, artist installations, podcasts, music compositions, and more for the museum’s website and public floor. Nicole has created temporary artworks and experimental soundscapes and supported artist-in-residence projects through curated programs and installations. She has also served on film juries for the San Francisco International Film Festival, participated on panels related to media and the web, and taught guest classes at the University of San Francisco and the San Francisco Art Institute.

This panel will be moderated by Paige Bardolph, Director of the Global Museum and lecturer in the SF State Museum Studies Program.