World Architecture Unlocked: UGC Project
As part of a UGC (user generated content) participation project, I joined Zooniverse to volunteer to transcribe data for public use. There are a wide variety of projects available to contribute to. I looked through the ongoing projects and chose to contribute to World Architecture Unlocked (Zooniverse 2023). The description for this particular project said, “Transcribe one of the most comprehensive and mysterious collections of architectural photography in the world.” I was immediately intrigued, as travel photography is one of my biggest passions, as is learning more about different parts of the globe and cultures. The project is currently at 87% completion and I helped contribute to the last country remaining, Italy. As a volunteer I was presented with a digitised mounted architectural photograph. As I inspected the photograph, I was to transcribe the written information provided on the mount. Much of the handwriting was difficult to decipher. However, if I could interpret part of the writing, I could do additional research in order to assemble the entirety of the information provided. The key elements that were to be transcribed included the city or town in the selected country, the name of the building, name of the architect, date, alphanumerical values, as well as description and other text. It was a straightforward process but I did conduct outside research in order to verify the written information in correlation with the location provided.
Through my participation in the Zooniverse project, World Architecture Unlocked, I have been able to join a community of people that are helping to provide a deeper understanding of the world and its history. This project launched on the 27th of October in 2020 with 900 volunteers eager to contribute and now in 2023 there are almost 12,000 registered volunteers. World Architecture Unlocked has over half a million classifications made and over 50 countries were a part of this research. By participating in this digitisation project, I have been able to assist in making these historical images free and accessible to the public.
The photographs that I worked on digitising are a part of The Courtauld Conway Library collection. The entire project consists of 60,000 negatives and almost one million mounted photographs (Courtauld 2023). When the project is complete, the entire collection will be freely accessible online. By transcribing the details of these images, I was able to help uncover the mysteries of this incredible collection and provide the ability for these images to be searched digitally. These images consist of photographs of cathedrals, drawings of building plans, details of the buildings, and views of the cities that would otherwise not be seen and studied by the public without this project. This project perfectly aligns with my efforts in digital humanities and seeking to make knowledge and resources more accessible as well as my work as a photographer and digital storyteller. Each historical photograph tells a different story. By transcribing the data for each of the photographs, I am able to help more people access these stories. That opens the door for their own personal connection, research, and world of curiosity with these photographs. Using our technological tools in digital humanities allows us to keep moving forward while telling the stories of the past.
By transcribing the details of these historical photographs of architecture, we are not only able to preserve these images but expand the reach to anyone online. Without this digitisation project, this collection of photographs would only be seen by people physically at The Courtauld Conway Library. Having these historical images preserved and digitised will further allow us to look into the past, gain better understanding of the world, and hopefully urge us on to take care of the world and continue to foster a curiosity of the world’s history. Through this UGC project, researchers worldwide will have access to pieces of history that may not be standing today. This was a wonderful project to work on that stirred inspiration and admiration within myself for world architecture. My contribution, along with the thousands of other volunteers, will make it possible for thousands of documents, images, and historical puzzle pieces to be utilised for future research and discoveries. To spend time aiming to make art, history, and data more accessible is a great effort that will contribute to years of furthered success and discoveries.
Through my experience as a volunteer for the World Architecture Unlocked project, I have learned what can be accomplished by thousands of people with similar passions and an organised agenda. I have been able to learn more about the cities and towns of Italy and the incredible architecture to be found in them. Participating in a project such as this one also allowed me to get a glimpse into the way of life during those time periods. There are particular images that show the old streets of Italy that hold so many details of life during that time. As a graphic designer and photographer, I was inspired by the images, the advertisements, and the minute details such as the clothing people wore. It is the idea of walking through the past that makes me question how different we are than the people shown in the corners of these images. In many ways we are different but we are still people that seek purpose nonetheless. It is all of the small details in these images that make each place what it is. To be able to preserve, digitise, and share that with the world is incredible and something I am proud to be contributing to.
This experience has also reminded me that there are still many people in this world that want to help others and do not care to profit off of it. While I was working through the photographs I was transcribing, I could not quite distinguish one of the words in the description. After many attempts at deciphering it on my own, I left a comment on the image and quickly after, someone commented and helped me come to the proper conclusion. This project was not simply a large project broken down into smaller pieces for people to work on alone, but it was a community of individuals that came together to put each puzzle piece together, helping one another when people needed it. In 2023 we are provided a plethora of information, images, and data. It is important, however, to take what we have from the past and do our best to preserve, digitise, and learn from it. It is important to look to the future but also look at where we have come from and share that with the world. The digital humanities plays a large role in curating the stories of the past and paving the way for it to be carried into the future in order for it to be seen and utilised. The process of digitising these historical photographs of world architecture opens the door for anyone to be able to access, study, and further their own related research.
As someone who is seeking to learn more about my Native American heritage, I can see how this practice of digitising and transcribing materials could be extremely beneficial to Native American tribes. While there are already great resources available for viewing historical documents of Native American tribes, there could be much more discovered if an initiative began to ask tribal members to share their images that have been passed down in order for more people to learn and appreciate them. These images could then be scanned, any information could be transcribed, and they could be made available to the public. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has a searchable archive of historical images of Native Americans and their culture (Bureau of Indian Affairs 2023). However, I have yet to find a database that is crowdsourced in order to identify individuals in these images. That could be highly beneficial to searching through ancestry and researching your lineage. I feel that the techniques I applied in the World Architecture Unlocked project could be a great process for growing the database of Native American photography and documentation.
As a photographer, I believe it would be extremely interesting to take the World Architecture Unlocked project one step further and find these historical locations in the present day and recreate the images. This would be eye opening as to how the structures have changed over time. It would be a daunting task due to the images in the collection being from all over the world. However, I believe that it could be done and it would be an amazing opportunity to further connect this community of individuals that are contributing to the transcription of these historical photographs. As someone who thoroughly enjoys travelling, photography, and historical architecture, I would be thrilled to join the project. Rather than a traditional research team, the process of digitisation by crowdsourcing is a great way to discover more details about historical data.
Bibliography
Bureau of Indian Affairs Photography Finding Aid. “Bureau Of Indian Affairs Photographs Finding Aid.” Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.archives.gov/research/native-americans/bia/photos/.
The Courtauld. “Digitisation Volunteer Project.” Accessed February 3, 2023. https://courtauld.ac.uk/libraries/collections-and-image-libraries/image-libraries/volunteer-digitisation-project/.
“Zooniverse.” Accessed February 1, 2023. https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/courtaulddigital/world-architecture-unlocked.