The Technical Infrastructure of Cultural Initiatives on Wikimedia: Three Case Studies From Brazil

Abstract

We use the concept of cultural movements as a theoretical basis to reflect on the sociotechnical infrastructure of three Wikimedia initiatives in Brazil: the photography contest Wiki Loves Monuments, the National Museum Cross-Wiki Project and the Museu Paulista GLAM-Wiki partnership. We analyse how they were organised and how their workflow is coordinated in a collaborative environment. We also present their strategies for the preservation of cultural heritage collections and for the innovation in content dissemination. The evidence points to the relevance of Wikidata—a collaborative, open database—for structuring information and optimising coordination and crowdsourcing. It also points to the importance of establishing mechanisms for shared curatorship between the Wikimedia community and cultural institutions.

Keywords

• wikimedia
• cultural initiatives
• technical infrastructure
• digital preservation
• digital dissemination