Tidernas Göteborg

“Tidernas Göteborg” focuses on identifying information and knowledge generated from photographs and films about Gothenburg, and comparing this with information from written archive sources. This is done as a way to increase knowledge about issues related to documentation and mediation of places and the usage of space in a historical perspective: both through classical image analysis, as well as through digital methods such as machine learning algorithms and "big data" analysis. The aim is to apply the methods of digital technology to explore new forms of mediation, interaction and for making this kind of archive material accessible to the general public. This, by opening up for co-creation with a MIL-perspective (Media and Information Litteracy) to both create a broader understanding of the content, and create new contextualized visualizations of Gothenburg's history. The project is carried out as part of the research center GPS400 - Center for Collaborative Visual Research, which is led by the University of Gothenburg.

The project will explore these topics through the following activities:

• Analysis and comparison of archive material linked to Gothenburg's history from different archive sources, both photographic, film and written, to increase the understanding of what kind of archive sources have historically been used for what kind of documentation, with regard to motif, sender, recipient, message, purpose, perspective, aesthetics, etc.
• Development of an open source search tool, which will enable simultaneous semantic search in both text material and image material, through the use of deep reading algorithms and image analysis algorithms.    
• Co-creation and dissemination of new forms of visualization of archive-based cultural heritage material through arranging a so-called "game jam", where participants will have the opportunity to create their own experiences and narratives, based on lectures, workshops and conversations with relevant researchers and using the developed search tool . This should also result in knowledge about how these kind of co-creative methods can be used as a form of cultural heritage mediation.