Save the Date: An Open Access Anniversary Event at The Met

«It's been nearly one year since The Met launched its Open Access initiative, which made more than 375,000 images of public-domain artworks from the collection available for free and unrestricted use. Over this short period, this initiative has transformed the way we provide access to The Met collection and takes us another step further in fulfilling the Museum's mission in the digital age.»

We are hosting an event on February 13 to mark the one-year anniversary of Open Access at The Met, in cooperation with our partners, Wikimedia NYC and the Wikimedia Foundation. This two-part event will explore the potential and value of opening up institutional collections and data to the public, and will kick off with a panel and workshop featuring a team of experts who will introduce Wikidata: what it is, how it works, why it matters, and how to use it.

This will be followed by a talk in which I sit down with Katherine Maher, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation. Together with moderator Dennis K. Berman, business editor of The Wall Street Journal, we'll discuss the importance and impact of open data for cultural organizations and their global audiences.

See the full details below. I hope to see you there.

One Year Later: What's Next in Open Cultural Resources

From left: Katherine Maher, Executive Director, Wikimedia Foundation; Dennis K. Berman, Business Editor, The Wall Street Journal, and Loic Tallon, Chief Digital Officer, The Met

When: Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 12:30–5 pm

Where: Seminar Room and Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall in the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education (81st Street entrance) at The Met Fifth Avenue

Schedule of Events:

12:30–3:30 pm: A Panel Discussion and Wikidata Workshop
Seminar Room

• A moderated discussion with a panel of open data experts, including Effie Kapsalis, Chief of Content and Communications Strategy, Smithsonian Institution Archives; Richard Knipel, Wikimedian-in-Residence, The Met; and Andrew Lih, author of The Wikipedia Revolution: How A Bunch of Nobodies Created The World's Greatest Encyclopedia.
• A hands-on workshop putting Wikidata to use for your institution's collection.
• Attendees should bring their own laptops and power cords to participate in the workshop.

4–5 pm: In Conversation: Katherine Maher, Executive Director, Wikimedia Foundation and Loic Tallon, Chief Digital Officer, The Met, moderated by Dennis K. Berman, Business Editor, The Wall Street Journal
Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall

Please check in with Museum staff when you arrive.

Sign up for this free event on Eventbrite and share it with your friends.

Learn more about The Met's Open Access initiative.

The Met's Open Access initiative is made possible through the continued generous support of Bloomberg Philanthropies.