Katrin Glinka

Culture & Digitisation


I am passionate about culture and digital technologies. My expertise lies in bringing both areas together in a meaningful way. In recent years, I have especially worked on applying visualisation techniques to cultural data and on exploring innovative digital approaches to museum interpretation.

My work is guided by the conviction that digital technologies offer the potential to re-think and re-configure research and practices in the humanities and in cultural institutions, allow us to implement critical and interventionist approaches, and strengthen visitor orientation and accessibility in museums. I believe in the value of collaboration and enjoy working with colleagues from different disciplines, which regularly challenges me to explore new practices and methods. The strongest influences on my academic and applied work have come from fields such as design, human-centered computing, and critical cartography.

In my doctoral research, I examine differences and similarities between concepts, terminologies, and methods in computer science, art history, and museum practice. I analyse, among other things, the influence of machine learning methods on the cultural practice of collecting and documenting in museums. In November 2020, I joined the Human-Centered Computing research group at Freie Universität Berlin as head of the Human-Centered Data Laboratory. As the scientific project lead for the project "museum4punkt0" (2017 - 2020) at the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz I developed and evaluated various digital applications for museums. Before that, I was a research associate at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences where I continued to teach media and design theory until spring 2020.

Curriculum Vitae

1. Work

  • 2020 - ongoing — Berlin, Germany

    Head of Human-Centered Data Laboratory

    ,
    Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Computer Science, Resarch Group Human-Centered Computing (HCC)

    Conception and establishment of an interdisciplinary research lab at the intersection between computer science, human-centred computing, the humanities and social sciences.

  • 2017 - 2020 — Berlin, Germany

    Scientific Project Lead

    ,
    museum4punkt0, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz

    Programmatic, strategic, and scientific development of the overall project. Concept and development of digital applications for museums. Publication and lecture activities. Evaluation and reporting.

  • 2014 - 2020 — Potsdam, Germany

    Lecturer

    ,
    Potsdam University of Applied Sciences

    Courses on cultural theory, visualisation, and interface design for cultural institutions.

  • 2014 - 2017 — Potsdam, Germany

    Research Associate

    ,
    Potsdam University of Applied Sciences

    Research Associate at the »UCLAB« in the research project »VIKUS - Visualisation of Cultural Collections«. Visualisation research, digital humanities, digital art history, design theory. Conception and writing of research proposals, publication and lecture activities.

  • 2014 - 2014 — Berlin, Germany

    Self employed

    ,
    freelance work (selection)

    VISLAB: Co-Founder - research, website editing and development. WHITE RABBIT: editor online marketing. DREINULL: Production office assistant. Koenig & Clinton Gallery (NY): art fair production & sales at Art Cologne. beamAround: marketing consulting, consulting online presence.

  • 2013 - 2014 — Berlin, Germany

    Head of Press & Communications

    ,

    me Collectors Room

    Press work, initiating media partnerships, guided tours, social media communication, website & newsletter editing, collection database integration, print production (Maternity Leave Cover).

  • 2012 - 2013 — Berlin, Germany

    Self employed

    ,
    freelance work (selection)

    Gallery Leo Koenig (NY): Art fair production & sales at Art Cologne. Nowadays: coordinator production office, Hugo Boss Show. Gallery CRONE Berlin: art fair support at abc - art berlin contemporary. Gallery Kornfeld: Editor and co-translator of exhibition catalogue.

  • 2012 - 2012 — Berlin, Germany

    Press & Communications, Project Management

    ,
    District Berlin

    Press and public relations for exhibition project, print production and mailings, social media communication, project management, writing and coordination of grant applications, accounting, concept development for website, supervision of CMS implementation.

  • 2011 - 2012 — Berlin, Germany

    Project Management & Art Marketing Advisor

    ,

    Art for Industry

    Project management and event organisation. Consulting and mediation between corporate clients and public institutions. Implementation of marketing strategies in museum cooperations (e.g. with Hamburger Kunsthalle, Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin). Collection management, database management.

  • 2007 - 2010 — Lüneburg, Germany

    Curatorial Assistant

    ,

    Halle für Kunst Lüneburg

    Co-conception and production of exhibitions, publications, and mediation programs. Writing and coordination of grant applications. Accounting.

2. Education

  • 2017 - ongoing — Berlin, Germany

    Doctoral Candidate

    ,
    Department of Cultural History and Theory, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

    Doctoral Thesis, »Structures of Similarity - Representation and Reference in Digital Collections«

  • 2004 - 2010 — Lüneburg, Germany

    Magister Artium

    ,
    Cultural Studies, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg

    Art History, Art Sociology, Visual Studies, Cultural Theory, Digital Media Culture

3. Publications

4. Teaching

  • 2020 — Workshop

    Digitale Strategien für Kultureinrichtungen,

    digiS - Forschungs- und Kompetenzzentrum Digitalisierung Berlin
  • 2019 — Seminar

    Was soll schon schiefgehen? Kulturtheorie als kritische Gegenwartsreflexion,

    Potsdam University of Applied Sciences, Department of Design
  • 2018 — Workshop

    Promoting the Museum in the Digital Age,

    ICOM - International Council of Museums, Capacity Building Programme at Qatar Museums
  • 2018 — Seminar

    Active Archives – Engaging Interfaces,

    Potsdam University of Applied Sciences - in collaboration with HyperStudio at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
  • 2016 — Seminar

    Die Regierung des kreativen Körpers und das erschöpfte Selbst,

    Potsdam University of Applied Sciences, Department of Design
  • 2016 — Workshop

    Zeigen, Nutzen, Explorieren – digitale Sammlungen visualisieren,

    Servicestelle Digitalisierung Berlin (digiS)
  • 2015 — Seminar

    Warum Foucault keine Smartwatch trägt,

    Potsdam University of Applied Sciences, Department of Design
  • 2015 — Workshop

    Was machen mit den Daten? Museumsdisplay und Museum im Display,

    Servicestelle Digitalisierung Berlin (digiS)
  • 2015 - 2017 — Seminar (Co-teaching)

    Visualisierung kultureller Sammlungen,

    Potsdam University of Applied Sciences

5. Talks (selection)

  • 2020 — Stockholm, Sweden (virtual event)

    »Digital Technologies in Museums: A Field of Interdisciplinary Research«,

    DIGARV Seminar: Digital Tools & Methods
  • 2020 — Jakarta, Indonesia (virtual event)

    Keynote: »The Future of Open GLAM«,

    Goethe-Institut Indonesien: Festival Retas Budaya
  • 2020 — Düsseldorf & Ulm, Germany (virtual event)

    »GLAMs im digitalen Wandel - Barbara K. Fischer & Katrin Glinka im Gespräch«,

    nextmuseum.io
  • 2020 — Bologna, Italy (virtual event)

    »Visual Representations of Thought: on Museum Displays and Visualization Interfaces«,

    9th International Conference of the European Society for the History of Science (ESHS)
  • 2019 — Heidelberg, Germany

    »Visualisation Critique and Critical Visualisations«,

    Heidelberg Computational Humanities Summer School, Universität Heidelberg
  • 2019 — Berlin, Germany

    »Nicht in Stein gemeißelt - Museen im digitalen Wandel«,

    re:publica19, Berlin
  • 2019 — Berlin, Germany

    »Potenziale von Datenvisualisierung für die geisteswissenschaftliche Forschung und Vermittlung«,

    Digital * Humanities im Gespräch #4, Freie Universität Berlin
  • 2018 — Berlin, Germany

    »Schnittstellen, Austausch, Prozesse – Offenheit als Fundament von Innovation«,

    Konferenz zur digitalen Entwicklung des Kulturbereichs. Technologiestiftung Berlin, Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa
  • 2017 — Washington DC, USA

    »Visualisation as a means for museum education and mediation«,

    Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
  • 2015 — Munich, Germany

    »Visualisierung kultureller Sammlungen - Exploration und Vermittlung von digitalisierten Beständen«,

    Lecture series »Digitale Kunstgeschichte« at the Institute of Art History, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität
  • 2015 — Newcastle, UK

    »Re-thinking Museum Display in the digital Realm. Critical Approaches in Collection Interfaces and Visualisations«,

    Open Lab, Newcastle University

6. Grants & Stipends

  • 2017 — Washington DC, USA

    International Cartographic Association

    Travel Grant,

    International Cartographic Conference 2017

  • 2017 — Bern, Switzerland

    DARIAH/CLARIN

    Travel Grant,

    DHd Bern 2017

  • 2017 — Munich, Germany

    VolkswagenStiftung

    Spring School,

    »Coding Dürer«, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

  • 2016 — Zurich, Switzerland

    Getty Foundation

    Summer School,

    »Digital Collections«, ETH Zurich & Swiss Institute for Art Research (SIK-ISEA)

Background image: tapet, Länsmuseet Gävleborg, CC BY-SA