What is needed to digitise knowledge on Heritage Crafts?

Zabulis X, Meghini C, Partarakis N, Kaplanidi D, Doulgeraki P, Karuzaki E, Stefanidi E, Evdemon T, Metilli D, Bartalesi V, Fasoula M, Tasiopoulou E, Beisswenger C

Crafts  Heritage Crafts  Representation  Digitisation 

Heritage Crafts (HCs) involve tangible craft artefacts, materials, and tools and encompass traditional craftsmanship as a form of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Intangible HC dimensions include dexterity, know-how, and skilled use of tools, as well as identity and traditions of the communities in which craftsmanship is, or was, practiced. Despite their cultural significance, efforts towards HC digital representation and presentation are scattered. In the Mingei EU Innovation Action, an approach is developed towards systematising the representation of Heritage Crafts as Cultural Heritage for their preservation. The representation is expected to capture the wide spectrum of knowledge topics that HCs cover, from objects and their making, to hand gestures and tool uses that define craft motor skills, to the societal value, economic impact, and historical significance. In this article, we focus on the approach towards the creation of a knowledge and its representation. Examples and experiments are presented for two craft instances that are studied in this action.

Source: MEMORIAMEDIA, vol. 1 (issue 4), pp. 1-25