Masar // Designing Pathways for Cultural and Creative Emancipation
Masar, مسار , pathways in Arabic, is a heritage oriented database developed for Lebanese cultural emancipation. This database gathers objects and items related to the Lebanese cultural heritage in order to make them accessible to the general public, while encouraging artists and creators to consult the database and create the future of their heritage. It is also a place for crowdsourcing data and cultural items that will be reviewed by certified aggregators and scholars, in order to further enrich Masar. It is the exploration and discovery of Lebanese heritage through a journeying experience.
Masar was developed as part of my proof of concept for my final Masters of Science Thesis in Communication Design at Politecnico Di Milano.
In order to start defining an effective design system for cultural emancipation, my thesis work started by this question:
As seen above with my extensive database research, few of these databases dip their toes within the creative use of their work, As most databases having restriction concerning copyright and open access. Few databases also resort to crowdsourcing their work.
To conserve and preserve cultures in all its aspects within museums and databases, Cultural organizations such as the UNESCO or the ICROM and independent national policies frame culture within a definition of diversity and tangible and intangible heritage, in which cultures find expression, fostering artistic creation, distribution and enjoyment
I want to highlight the importance of Local Changemakers and Community Leaders in their involvement in the cultural sphere as highlighted by Marshall McLuhan and Harley Parker, as they championed “for placing museum objects in social and cultural contexts, favouring audience participation and multiple perspectives over the imposition of a single, linear narrative.”
I want to highlight the importance of Local Changemakers and Community Leaders in their involvement in the cultural sphere as highlighted by Marshall McLuhan and Harley Parker, as they championed “for placing museum objects in social and cultural contexts, favouring audience participation and multiple perspectives over the imposition of a single, linear narrative.”
Thus, to navigate and define cultural expansion, I propose my own contribution and definition by dividing it into 3 phases: conservation, dissemination and valorization
I will be taking the example of the Jordanian Digital library of Living tradition, in which I had worked on my internship Imagislab. Conservation is the online and offline preservation of artefacts within a center of cultural sphere, such as in a museum or database. Here by filming documentation of Bedouin culture and adding relevant data.
Dissemination of data and artefacts is the promotion of collection contents while going beyond the limitations of time and space, such as social media presence, or promotional films. Here seen in the creation of the online digital library, congregating all film documentation of bedouin heritage.
The third pillar, valorization of data, is the creativity, reclamation and artistic expansion of disseminated data from its cultural source. Originating from the re-use of a heritage item from a collection for creative innovation.
I discovered that it is not a step that is often partaken by databases and cultural missions, such as seen here with the digital library
Dissemination of data and artefacts is the promotion of collection contents while going beyond the limitations of time and space, such as social media presence, or promotional films. Here seen in the creation of the online digital library, congregating all film documentation of bedouin heritage.
The third pillar, valorization of data, is the creativity, reclamation and artistic expansion of disseminated data from its cultural source. Originating from the re-use of a heritage item from a collection for creative innovation.
I discovered that it is not a step that is often partaken by databases and cultural missions, such as seen here with the digital library
How can we create a platform that effectively represent the three pillars mentioned above?
As a witness of Lebanese cultural heritage development, I have taken note of the sporadic instability of a Lebanon that is not aware and engaging of its own past, under managed in its present, and uncertain of its future. Today, many Lebanese changemakers, creators and community leaders within the country or diaspora are shaping the future of a new country, despite its never ending obstacles. And with the imminent thread of erased heritage due to conflict and failing educational resources, preserving it has become a more and more crucial priority to take on forward.
Museums in Lebanon have few, if no, online databases available for consultation, some have no working websites, putting their efforts within the step of conservation. Academic institution in the territory however offer more developed databases and online exhibits within the dissemination phase, such as the American University of Beirut, but often these thematic databases are incomplete, scattered within university websites, not fully open access.
Which led to the creation of Masar, the connected pathways database of cultural heritage discovery, with emancipation of today’s Lebanese communities and creators.
The three pathway searchable options are divided by content type, The History for artefacts from Lebanese Prehistory to the end of the civil war, the Future for artworks inspired by said artefacts, and the World to browse all items at once.
Accessible crowdsourcing options are present within Artefacts submissions, with different submit item types for creative accessibility.
Different users types definitions are set up for each defined role, Scholar for animating the database, Creators and Contributors for creatives and crowdsourcers, and Aggregators for maintaining, moderating and fact checking new and old content. Defined Cultural Tools were developed for different content creation and discovery narratives, such as ReTales, Mappings and the Topicould.
The three pathway searchable options are divided by content type, The History for artefacts from Lebanese Prehistory to the end of the civil war, the Future for artworks inspired by said artefacts, and the World to browse all items at once.
Accessible crowdsourcing options are present within Artefacts submissions, with different submit item types for creative accessibility.
Different users types definitions are set up for each defined role, Scholar for animating the database, Creators and Contributors for creatives and crowdsourcers, and Aggregators for maintaining, moderating and fact checking new and old content. Defined Cultural Tools were developed for different content creation and discovery narratives, such as ReTales, Mappings and the Topicould.
And finally, a tutorial and mentorship platform for emancipating local communities, named, ARTBOX, it was developed as a response to several NGOs and changemakers whom train local communities for cultural action toward their own territory.
Masar's simplified system architecture
Walkthrough example of Masar's user experience
The full Masar proof of concept design and prototype simulation is available below for your consultation.
For a complete, detailed, expanded research document, my full thesis is attached in the Assets section for your reading reference. It includes full transcripts of interviews conducted by field professionals as well as proof of concept semi-structured talk aloud tests in the Appendix sections.
