Dear Joe, Thank you so much for your advice. I am gathering all the replies and will feed them back to the group before we go on our travels! Thanks again. It's really helpful, Emmajane Emmajane Avery Head of Education The Wallace Collection Hertford House Manchester Square London, W1U 3BN T: 020 7563 9549 F: 020 7224 2155 Coming soon: From Jean Arp to Louise Bourgeois: Modern Artists at Sèvres 15 June - 10 September 2006 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ This email and any attached files are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual(s) to whom it is addressed. If you have received this email in error please be advised that any forwarding, copying, printing, or further unauthorised use is prohibited and you should contact the sender. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of The Wallace Collection. Although this email and any attachments are believed to be free of any virus or other defects which may harm your IT system, no responsibility is accepted by The Wallace Collection for any loss or damage arising from the receipt of this email. -----Original Message----- From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Joe Cutting Sent: 22 May 2006 10:28 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: New Media Enquiry Emmajane >> Here at the Wallace we are looking into ideas as to what New Media we = might be able to employ in the galleries in future, providing access to = information about our collection. In order to recommend what might be = best for us, we would like to see what is out there at the moment in = terms of terminals, PDAs etc. We want to look at them in terms of = content, technology, practical issues and, obviously, cost. =20 >> Nice broad question then... Hmm, where to start I would say that the most important thing is not to see New Media as something which you ought to have because its the thing to do but think in terms of it solving certain problems for you, communicating particular content or being used by particular audiences. This will make it much easier for you to focus in on what you want and why you want it. It'll also make it easier to justify the time and expense. The next thing to do is probably to go and look at what other people have done. For the arts & crafts field in London I would go and look at the V & A British Galleries, The National Portrait Gallery and The National Gallery. The Science Museum has more new media than anyone else and there are also other institutions doing interesting work such as the Tate but that should get you started. Make sure you actually use the exhibits - they are designed to be interactive - and you can probably get in touch with the people at the institution who will tell you how they commissioned them and how much they cost. Cost is very difficult to estimate but for an absolutely bare bones kiosk you are probably looking at at least £6k with the average being around £10-12k. If you're looking to spend a fair bit of money or want to consider all the options you might want to engage a consultant (such as err, me) to help you. Finally, when you actually come to the commissioning and development process you might find some of the advice on my web site at www.joecutting.com/advice.html useful. Start with "So you want to put a computer interactive in your museum? - A beginner's guide" and work on from there. All the best with your project Joe ************************************************** For mcg information and to manage your subscription to the list, visit the website at http://www.museumscomputergroup.org.uk ************************************************** ************************************************** For mcg information and to manage your subscription to the list, visit the website at http://www.museumscomputergroup.org.uk **************************************************