Museum of Ethnography of Budapest
The MotifCreator application offers a unique blend of ethnography, technology, cultural preservation, and education, providing users with a platform to explore the collection, get to know the artefact itself, and create authentic designs using motifs and patterns based on the Museum of Ethnography's artefact collection. These motifs span both Hungarian and international origins, reflecting a diverse array of the Museum’s collection.
The MotifCreator application offers a comprehensive, continuously growing database of motifs (now with 1,330 motifs), allowing users to learn, select, modify, and combine designs to create unique patterns and compositions. The motifs can be easily filtered by tags or location. It is possible to view a photograph of the carrier object, its details, and data, including its place of origin. Users can download their own compositions, and all created work is saved; we also plan to use them for a community artwork. As it is an online application, the app can be accessed from anywhere, so the artwork will be based on international and Hungarian motifs created by international and Hungarian users.
Why is it unique and polyphonic?
•It is the result of decades of classic museum research.
•It is based on a museum collection.
•It induces IT developments.
•It inspires creative industries and designers.
•It establishes partnerships with schools and universities.
•It has multi-level and stratified social utilization.
•It involves target groups with disadvantages.
•It elevates classic ethnographic knowledge into a contemporary artistic medium.
•It supports lifelong learning.
•It incorporates gamification.
Explain in one sentence why you think the project you nominate is outstanding and could serve as an example for the entire community of modern and contemporary art museums.
As well as mobilizing different layers of the museum collection, the app provides communities with appropriate and authentic source material from the global to the local (down to small villages) level, so that they can learn about the aesthetic characteristics of their own popular culture and further apply them to new craft, designer or virtual creations.
Explain why this practice or program is relevant and sustainable in creating meaningful and lasting connections with people, communities, and the museum context with a medium to long-term vision.
MotifCreator is a sustainable and relevant platform that fosters lasting connections between people, communities, and cultural institutions by preserving and promoting cultural heritage. By digitizing and expanding its repository of cultural motifs, it ensures that diverse cultural symbols remain accessible for future generations. The platform's workshops, lectures, and museum education sessions actively engage communities, promoting ownership and transmission of cultural knowledge. Integration with museum education makes the MotifCreator experience more interactive and accessible, extending its reach through traveling sessions. Embracing digital innovation, including planned AI integration, positions the platform at the forefront of cultural preservation technology, ensuring adaptability in a rapidly evolving landscape. Online accessibility further enhances its global reach, connecting users across physical boundaries. In summary, Motifcreator is relevant and sustainable because it actively preserves cultural heritage, engages communities, integrates with museums, embraces digital innovation, and provides global accessibility.