CombiningForces:
The Omeka for Art Historians Working Group

Sheila A. Brennan

Director of Strategic Initiatives Research Associate Professor

Roy Rosenzweig Center for History & New Media
@sherah1918

Getty Foundation
#DoingDAH14

Omeka Team | Working Group

Project Goals

• Convene working group of art historians using Omeka to advise on new dev & design
• Design 3 new Omeka themes
• Build a VRACore element set & Editorial Feedback plugin
• Write documentation for using
  Omeka for art history classes & research
• Present at CAA!
• Contribute to growing body of
  digital art history work

Patterns of Work (plugins)

Scoping out requirements, requests, discussion in G-docs (first)

Patterns of Work (themes)

Scoping out some needs and wants (survey)

ArtHistoryDev

Created an Omeka testing site on RRCHNM dev server for working group members

Iterative Development

Develop/design, test, revise, re-test
with Omeka team + working group

3 New Themes

Editorial Plugin

Successes

• Designing for targeted audiences is great!
   
• Working with enthusiastic collaborators
   
• On track to complete all deliverables
   
• Making targeted intervention in digital art history initiatives

Please Try & Test!

• Center Row: https://github.com/omeka/theme-centerrow
• The Daily: https://github.com/omeka/theme-thedaily
• Big Picture: https://github.com/omeka/theme-bigpicture/
• VRA Core Element Set: https://github.com/omeka/plugin-VraCore/
• Editorial Plugin: https://github.com/omeka/plugin-Editorial/releases/tag/v0.1.0-beta

Available today on GItHub

Omeka Addons Directory
(soon)

Challenges

• New Themes and Plugins must work together w/existing core code & extensions
   
• Plugin dev'd by other orgs (ie, Neatline) are out of our
  control
   
• Managing priorities w/other Omeka development
   
• Somethings are harder than you think!
   
• Everyone is busy.

Future of this Collaboration

• Wrapping Up:  April 30
   
• Hoping to continue new relationships with working group members
   
• Seeking other opportunities for collaboration on Omeka development or on art history projects.

Thank you!

Sheila A. Brennan

Director of Strategic Initiatives Research Associate Professor

Roy Rosenzweig Center for History & New Media

Image: Robert Rauschenberg, Winter Pool
Combine series 

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/494509