We developed several ways and initiatives to get involved in the Collections of the Ghent.

There is, among others, a toolkit, developed by project partner iDROPS, to involve people in cultural heritage projects. You can use it for projects within the framework of the Collections of Ghent but also for projects on cultural heritage with no link to the project. Scroll down for more information.

The Cultural Data Lab also organises many activities to get started with the data of the 'Collections of Ghent'. Keep an eye on our calendar to stay informed.

For your own projects you can appeal to a new subsidy fund that was created: the Co-creation Fund.

Co-creation Fund

Working with your neighbours, your association, organisation, company or school on Ghent's digitised cultural heritage? Then you have a chance of financial support through the Co-creation Fund. The Fund supports projects that use the Collections of Ghent in an innovative way.

The Collections of Ghent provides access to the heritage collections of Ghent's museums and archives in an online data and image bank. This is part of the general strategy of the City of Ghent concerning open data, in which the City stimulates the re-use of data and knowledge.

If you make use of Ghent's heritage data in a technological or creative way, you could apply for a financial boost of 2,000 to 20,000 euros. Submission deadline has closed on1 February 2022.

The projects run from May 2022 on. You could choose between 2 funds: creative or technological re-use.

Creative re-use

Creative re-use stimulates residents, associations, organisations, companies and educational institutions to get to work with the digitised heritage that the project unlocks. The aim is to make creative derivatives of heritage, for example new creations, stories, installations, research, events or other activities. The possibilities are endless: a play, performance, interactive installation, publication, film, podcast, a storytelling evening, a piece of music... or -who knows- a combination.

Technological re-use

The subsidy for technological re-use is aimed at the same target groups but stimulates technological applications that make the collections more interactive. In other words: applications that personalise the collections and make them more attractive and accessible to the people of Ghent. The Collections of Ghent data can also be linked to data from other sectors, such as tourism, mobility or education. This can involve the development of new apps, data visualisations, AI implementations, interactive installations, tools that allow for enrichment or transformation in a new way, and numerous other applications.

What is the intention?

The Collection's Co-creation Fund has two ambitions:

To ensure that more people and organisations use the Ghent heritage collection.

To use heritage to connect residents with each other.

Applying for a grant

A jury evaluated the applications and made a selection of 13 interesting projects.

Cultural Participation Toolkit

Are you interested in getting involved in the Collections of Ghent? Project partner iDROPS developed a toolkit for cultural participation. The toolkit aims to involve people in cultural heritage projects and helps them to create their own story.

The toolkit is practical, playful, experimental and adaptable to locations, people, possibilities and different needs. It contains 3 methods to shape your own project. At the end you will find a fill-in sheet to plan your ideas.

Getting people involved in cultural heritage can be stimulated in different ways:

• participating in activities or organising projects

• meeting and uniting people

• searching for objects

• visiting the collection

• adding to the collection

This toolkit is a modular guide with various methods and exercises. In this way we stimulate and inspire residents to actively engage with cultural heritage.

For whom?

It is intended for professionals in community work, culture, museums, schools, organisations, key figures in a neighbourhood with an interest in cultural heritage, … .