Platforming digital cultural heritage: history, curation, and platform governance on Google Arts & Culture

Abstract

This dissertation examines the intersection of cultural institutions and digital platforms, using Google Arts & Culture (GA&C) as a case study of platformization in the cultural sector. Theoretically, it situates GA&C within the intellectual and institutional lineage of the virtual museum, frames the platform as a networked memory institution with risks of digital enclosure and privatization, and unpacks its sociotechnical power through its various governance mechanisms. This study addresses three primary research questions: How did the platform evolve from the original Google Art Project into the current iteration of GA&C? How do the platform’s curatorial interventions and interface design shape content presentation? How do cultural institutions use the platform? A mixed-methods approach is adopted, including archival analysis of the platform’s website, mobile app, and outreach emails, content analysis of a highly curated section of the platform, visual analysis of the platform’s interface architecture, and semi-structured interviews with partner institutions. Key findings reveal a history of convergence among different cultural institutions on the platform but also a divergence from facilitating cultural institutions to engaging audiences through playful experience. The GA&C team plays an essential curatorial and editorial role in deciding project topics and managing featured content, while the platform’s interface prescribes a passive mode of user engagement that falls short of the promises of a truly participatory culture. While cultural institutions hoped for an aggregate portal with technological support from Google to expand their digital presence, the alignment between the platform and the partners, often a response to the partner’s internal digital strategy or external factors such as the global pandemic, ended up being contingent and experimental due to various issues on both sides. Finally, this dissertation also discusses the implications of GA&C for the participatory culture, the editorial role of digital platforms, and the datafication of arts and culture.