Curatorial A(i)gents presents a series of machine-learning-based experiments with museum collections and data developed by members and affiliates of metaLAB (at) Harvard, a creative research group working in the networked arts and humanities.
Long before computers came to pervade every aspect of modern life, museums were collecting, organizing, and storing data. The art museum is a kind of vast machine for making all types of objects interoperable, from Bronze Age figurines to contemporary works of performance art. Like our digital machines, museums engender experiences of wonder and discovery—and they’re also engines of bias, power, and invisibility.
During Spring 2022, metaLAB (at) Harvard will take up residency in the Harvard Art Museums’ Lightbox Gallery to explore contact zones across computers, collections, and culture. In the first phase of the program, called Curatorial A(i)gents, metaLAB’s international consortium of artists, data scientists, and scholars will delve deeply into the holdings of the Harvard Art Museums and other collections. These projects use algorithmic methods to uncover patterns and relationships in the collections, making them sensible and navigable in ways that extend beyond the relations of works on walls. The projects will incorporate a range of critical making and media-driven inquiry. Appearing as a weekly cycle of interactive installations, projects will be organized not by collection, but by some of the underlying topics that organize museums, databases, and worlds beyond institutional walls.
Price
Group
$20
Adults
$18
Seniors (65+)
Free
Sundays—free to all!
Free
All students with a valid ID
Free
Harvard ID holders (plus one guest)
Free
Harvard Art Museums Friends
Free
Youth under 18
Free
Cambridge residents (proof of residency required)
2022/03/01 - 2022/07/03
Harvard Art Museums
32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
The Harvard Art Museums are accessible for visitors using wheelchairs and other mobility devices. Accessible entrances are located on Quincy Street and Broadway. Visitors arriving via paratransit van or similar are recommended to use the entrance on Broadway, which allows a right-side exit from the vehicle. As the Broadway entrance is otherwise closed to visitors at this time, please let us know if you plan to use this entrance so that we can prepare for your arrival.
A limited number of wheelchairs are available for loan in the lobby free of charge. Wheelchair-accessible seating and assistive-listening devices are available in our lecture halls. Large text (18-point font) Visitor Guides are available in print and via iPads on loan from our Admissions desk for visitors with low vision. We also offer handheld magnifiers.
Accessible parking is available (pre-purchase required) in the Broadway Garage, located at 5 Felton Street. (Please note that the garage has a 6 ft. 8 in. height limit.) Parking permits can be purchased online and must be printed and presented to the parking attendant upon arrival. When asked to select the department from a drop-down menu, select Museum Visitor—Art Museums. The department code is 9071.
Sign language interpretation may be available upon request; please contact Visitor Services at least two weeks prior to the program.
For further assistance or inquiries, contact Visitor Services at 617-495-9400 or am_visitorservices@harvard.edu.