Oceania Digital Project and “Blackbox/Oceania Digital platform” A multi-platform online project

The Oceania Digital project of the Übersee-Museum Bremen (UEM) is a multi-platform project connecting different disciplines and global communities to create a museum concept of the future. It accompanies the development of the new permanent exhibition on Oceania that opens in 2024. Website about the project: https://www.uebersee-museum.de/en/oceania-digital In the Oceania Digital project we are connecting historical collections (ethnographical collections, natural history collections and historical photo collection) with contemporary topics and approaches. We are using digital to explore new ways of collaborating and reaching out to new audiences. In the process, we focus on our experience as a museum, on our current engagement with the museum’s collections and the role of our museum in reaching out to communities in the countries where the collections come from. Part of the project is a cooperation with National University of Samoa (NUS) and hiring a Samoan co-curator as part of the team. The starting point of our approach was Samoa, but also other Pacific Islands. We conceptualized the project from the multi-disciplinary approach that characterizes our institution and from the topics of our exhibitions and research; we shaped it in our conversations and collaborations. The project started as a very open journey with an iterative approach by not focusing on developing one application or designing a specific online platform and choosing specific digital formats, but by focusing on building networks, starting a dialogue and finding a shared approach with our colleagues at the NUS. The next step will be to create a platform (“Blackbox/Oceania Digital platform” = working title) where we present and bring together all these experiences, and where we guide users to the different ingredients of the project.

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