Museum-University Partnerships Case Study Virtual Reconstruction of Everyday Narratives Through the Nottingham City of Caves
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Museum-University Partnerships Case Study Virtual Reconstruction of Everyday Narratives through the Nottingham City of Caves National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement Virtual Reconstruction of Everyday Narratives through the Nottingham City of Caves Introduction This MUPI-funded project aimed (successfully) to create a strong project partnership group and to engage with the main institutional stakeholders in the City of Caves visitor attraction, and man-made Caves of Nottingham cultural heritage resource more widely. Project Partners National Justice Museum (Bev Baker) – Lead Project Partner Nottingham Trent University (Mohamed Gamal Abdelmonem) University of Sheffield (Paul Johnson) Project Stakeholders/steering group Nottingham City Council (Ron Inglis –Service Manager, Nottingham City Museums and Galleries; Scott Lomax – Acting City Archaeologist for Nottingham) Historic England (Tim Allen – Inspector of Ancient Monuments) University of Nottingham (Christopher Loveluck – Professor of Mediaeval European Archaeology) Trent & Peak Archaeology (David Knight – Head of Research; Howard Jones – Regional Director) British Geological Survey (Marcus Dobbs – Engineering Geologist) The partnership established through the MUPI Match (East Midlands) event is active and has plans to continue working towards the aims of the project in the future. Purpose To explore what could be achieved not only for the City of Caves but the wider cultural offer of the caves in Nottingham. The partnership aimed to consider advances in technology, and the possible usage of immersive applications to engage visitors to the City of Caves, as well as non-visitors by creating virtual access from street level, directly above the caves systems, as a means of engaging the wider community and translating that engagement into actual visitors to the City of Caves, and the other cave heritage sites within the city. Approach A visit to the City of Caves attraction by the partners/stakeholders, facilitated an exchange of expertise and knowledge amongst the stakeholders/partners. The group discussed the possibility of using Virtual Reality to recreate physical environments, along with smells and sounds within the City of Caves. Paul Menzies, a researcher from NTU, advocated for the application of Augmented Reality through the deployment of Bluetooth beacons, WiFi meshing, and discussed the need to provide visitors with tablets where they may not possess a smartphone. The existing data from the Nottingham Caves Survey (undertaken by Trent & Peak Archaeology) could be used as a basis for future work, thus sharing existing data and engaging with existing stakeholders and user groups. The group of partners/stakeholders discussed the possibility of developing an AR/VR “cave” that could provide remote access to as much of the caves network as has been mapped, with the potential to integrate serious games into this system, but the practical logistics of where this would be sited was raised as a potential issue. The group discussed the creation of a 3D model of the City of Caves, based upon an enhancement of the caves survey data. Marcus Dobbs from the British Geological Survey discussed the use of aircraft/drones to map the urban topography of modern Nottingham, which could be used in a number of ways within any of the above technological applications. Subsequently to the meeting, BGS have offered to scope the possibility of providing this service as a benefit in kind to the project, rendering it a more viable proposition than might be the case were a LiDAR flight to be commissioned commercially. The discussion encompassed the resources/information currently available that could be utilised to provide interpretative and descriptive content. The group identified that photographs of Drury Hill, census details of past residents/businesses exist and are accessible. The possibility, and desirability, was raised of collecting oral histories of people’s experiences/memories of the Drury’s Hill area while there are still residents who remember the area prior to demolition of the slums and building of the Broadmarsh Centre (within/under which, the City of Caves is located), adding real human experiences to the interpretative provision of the attraction. Both the British Geological Survey and Tony Waltham (one of the key figures in the history of investigations of the man-made caves of Nottingham), have archives which document the images which match the c. 700 different caves in Nottingham, of which only a small number depict unknown caves. Additional photographs may be sourced from the Nottingham Photographic Archive (Picture the Past), and the photographic archive of the Nottingham Historical Society has images showing the demolition of Drury’s Hill and houses/buildings in the Broad Marsh to illustrate what the area around/above the City of Caves looked like before the construction of the shopping centre. Furthermore, as Acting City Archaeologist, Scott Lomas has access to maps from 1609, 1744, and the 19th century, which have been digitised and geo-located, providing important evidence for the historical development of the area. Trent and Peak Archaeology have archaeological evidence for occupation/use of the area from the 9th century (through their work on the Origins of Nottingham Project), and archives of excavations carried out at Drury’s Hill. Lessons Learned The MUPI funding has enabled us to secure the engagement of key stakeholders and to convene meetings involving a number of interested parties (see above), which have enabled us to be more ambitious for the objectives of our forthcoming 3-year project. Engagement with stakeholders, and surveys conducted among users of the City of Caves attraction have highlighted several challenges and creative means of investigation required to respond to pressing needs of the CoC user groups. The knowledge of Stakeholders was fundamental to identifying pathways for further research which will inform a holistic and multifaceted approach to the representation of everyday life providing realistic and engaging virtual experiences through the City of Caves attraction. The pooling of all these resources/information as well as the expertise of the partners/stakeholders has the potential to drive this project forward into a tangible and valuable interpretative outcome/output, not only for the City of Caves visitor attraction, but also for the whole of the caves system in Nottingham. Challenges: Balancing the needs/opinions of a number of previously-invested stakeholders with the aims of the project Creating a common understanding between academic and museum partners for a project which allows “excellent research” to occur alongside production for museological purposes The limitation of time to undertake the activities was challenging. Knowledge and research directions emerging from the networking activities required more time to scrutinise and develop them. Benefits: Creation of new linkages between academic, statutory, and commercial bodies. Improved communication between the project partners and external stakeholders Improved understanding of the Caves of Nottingham as an Historical and Cultural Heritage resource, and the challenges and opportunities afforded by their management and use as a visitor experience. Next steps The next 6 months will involve two strategic trajectories: Further networking and engagement with stakeholders in the project (including local archaeologists and historians, the BGS, Historic England, Nottingham City Council, and owners of the site); The project team will work on the development of two grant applications for external funding focussed on a networking grant (e.g. AHRC Research Networking scheme), and for Creative and Immersive Experience Concept Development. Both grants will aim to further develop the scope and focus of the project, its proof of concept, and the development of experimental platforms to explore everyday narratives through the medium of the City of Caves. National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) is internationally recognised for its work supporting and inspiring universities to engage with the public. We work to change perspectives, promote innovation, and nurture and celebrate excellence. We also champion meaningful engagement that makes a real and valued difference to people’s lives. The NCCPE is supported by the UK Higher Education Councils, Research Councils UK and Wellcome, and has been hosted by the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England since it was established in 2008. National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement Tel 0117 328 7190 Email [email protected] Twitter @NCCPE www.publicengagement.ac.uk The Museum-University Partnership Initiative (MUPI) was supported by public funding from Arts Council England. It sought to enable museums and universities to meet together and develop mutually beneficial partnerships. A range of resources have been created, drawing on the learning from the MUPI project. You can find all these resources on the NCCPE website. For more information about this case study, please contact: Bev Baker, [email protected].