Digital Interpretation of Heritage Sites & Collections

MA Art History & Museum Curating dissertation, University of Sussex, 2016 — Distinction.

After studying an undergraduate degree where I specialised in design and interactive digital experiences, I undertook an MA in Art History & Museum Curating.

With an interest in combining digital with museums and historic places, my dissertation explored how digital interpretation could extend encounters with heritage and collections: to open rooms that couldn’t be entered, display fragile objects with complex conservation needs, and represent spaces that had been altered or lost. Beyond reproducing a space digitally, my focus on how digital media can combine illustration, archive material, narrative, interactivity, and sensorial experience to contribute to ‘sense of place,’ atmosphere, and history.

I contributed to early-stage interpretation discussions with National Trust teams at Scotney Castle and Sissinghurst Castle, exploring ways of making stored collections and lesser-seen spaces available to visitors through digital interpretation. I presented this work at the National Trust LSE Consultancy Conference.

This research informed my interest in a future PhD exploring digital and interactive experiences as a means of representing folklore, intangible heritage, and unseen cultural knowledge.