Sharing the Pleasure: Developing digital engagement using the Malcolm MacDonald Collection of Chinese ceramics

The project seeks to increase and enhance engagement with one of Durham University's key cultural assets - the Malcolm MacDonald Collection of Chinese ceramics, which is housed in the university's Oriental Museum. Central to the project will be the undertaking of a review into how we can most effectively use the new equipment and facilities funded by CapCo to underpin the development of new digital outputs (both 2-D and 3-D) that will allow us to use our collections more effectively. We will work with academic colleagues, schools educators, community groups and international partners to develop, deliver and refine new resources and methods of engagement using digital surrogates to investigate how we can most effectively use these tools to meet the demands, and enhance the engagement experiences, of multiple user groups.
The nature of the Malcolm MacDonald Collection of Chinese ceramics - which is of exceptionally high quality and in high demand, but is also of high value and (as a result of its inherent fragility) is at high risk - makes it an ideal candidate for this form of digitisation and digital engagement. The process will be iterative and will be informed by an ongoing process of formative assessment.
Feedback from the process will be shared with sector colleagues in the UK and overseas in order to support the development of sectorial resilience in the field.
The digitisation of the 400 items comprising the Malcolm MacDonald Collection of Chinese ceramics will sit at the heart of the project. Despite being one of our most heavily used (and financially valuable) research collections, the majority of the pieces lack high-quality images. The priority is accordingly to digitise the whole collection to a uniform high standard. As glazed ceramics are technically very difficult to photograph, this needs to be undertaken by an experienced specialist photographer. In addition, 3-D scans of a selection of key items will be undertaken, and 3-D prints of these items will be produced.
These new digital resources will be used to support the development and delivery of an on-line exhibition showcasing the collections. This will be produced in-house and will draw upon in-house expertise and digitisation resources supported by CapCo. In addition, a programme of discussions and workshops will be conducted with multiple user groups including academic teachers; researchers; schools learning professionals; creative artists; community groups; young people; and academic and professional colleagues in SE Asia. This dialogue will unpick what the various user groups are seeking to gain from engagement with digital museum resources and inform our developing engagement programming. It will also serve to underpin developing research and exhibition collaborations with colleagues in Malaysia and Singapore.
A final summative assessment will be undertaken following the conclusion of the project in and shared with academic and professional colleagues, as well as our international partners. Lessons learnt during the project will also be incorporated into our teaching on both the MA Museums and Artefacts Studies and BA Visual Arts and Film courses.