NSW House @ SXSW Sydney 2024: Digital Innovation in Cultural Institutions

Join NSW’s iconic Cultural Institutions as they explore the transformative power of digital technology in cultural spaces.

The Sydney Opera House, Art Gallery of NSW, Australian Museum, Museums of History NSW, State Library NSW, and Powerhouse Museum will highlight how they use digital innovations to enhance visitor experiences, preserve heritage, and improve engagement and accessibility.

Hear about the challenges, opportunities, and future of digital transformation/innovation in the arts and heritage sectors.

SXSW Track: Tech & Innovation | AI & Robotics

Moderator:
Tim Girling-Butcher, Head of Digital & Design, Museums of History NSW
Tim leads a skilled team of design, digital, and multimedia specialists at Museums of History NSW, driving diverse projects across both physical and online spaces. With over three decades of experience in the cultural sector across Australia and New Zealand, Tim has delivered a range of creative initiatives, including exhibitions, programs, digital narratives, and publishing. His journalistic roots, love for technology, and focus on audience engagement inspire him to continually find new ways to bring MHNSW’s stories and collections to life.

Panellists:
Stu Buchanan, Head of Screen (Digital Programming), Sydney Opera House
As Head of Screen for Sydney Opera House, Stuart Buchanan leads a multi-artform program that celebrates all facets of screen, digital and film culture. In 2020, he commissioned the Opera House’s acclaimed arts streaming platform, Stream, and earlier this year initiated the first regular cinema program at the Opera House in over forty years. He also leads the Screen commissioning program which develops new screen-based work with artists and partner organisations; and live events that place technology at the core of the artist and audience experience. He has worked with companies such as ABC, Disney, The Guardian, TEDxSydney and Museum of Contemporary Art and co-founded the award-winning digital cultural agency The Nest.

Maria Savvidis, Specialist Librarian, President of Oral History NSW, State Library NSW
Maria is a Specialist Librarian in the acquisition and curatorial branch of the State Library and President of Oral History NSW. She is passionate about contemporary collecting, access, and diversity across formats in cultural institutions.  Maria curates the Library’s oral history collections featured on the Amplify platform that combines AI and crowd sourcing to correct machine generated transcripts.

Megan Lawrence, Head of Digital, Australian Museum
Megan Lawrence is Head of Digital Experience at the Australian Museum (AM), leading digital product development for online and onsite visitor experiences. The Digital team works collaboratively with agencies and industry partners on web and mobile projects inspired by the AM's natural science research and cultural collections. Recent projects include the complete redevelopment of the Museum's flagship website australian.museum, digital product development of the FrogID citizen science project, accessible audio guides and digital twin experiences of museum exhibitions. Megan has also been collaborating with Audiocraft to produce a new form of museum podcast - Nocturnal Worlds: journeys through nature for sleep and relaxation.

Sophie Netchaef, Head of Research at Powerhouse
Sophie Netchaef is Head of Research, Library and Archive at Powerhouse. She is a curator and writer interested in cultural industry ecology and emerging practice and has recently returned from London where she held posts across strategic development within the arts sector. This included working as Strategic Project Manager at Serpentine Galleries with the Arts Technologies team, co-developing the Serpentine’s R&D Platform and a series of publications entitled Future Art Ecosystems, an annual strategic briefing that provides analytical and conceptual tools for the construction of a truly 21st-century cultural infrastructure.

Register your interest to attend today! 

If you'd like to learn more about NSW House and our program at SXSW Sydney visit www.nsw.gov.au/sxsw-sydney

Please note: priority access into NSW House will be given to SXSW Sydney 2024 badge and wristband holders.  Registration to this session does not guarantee entry.