To build the project website and the database housed on it, we used Drupal, a well-established Open-Source Content Management System commonly used by museums and other memory institutions. Drupal enables the construction of complex relational databases that host and connect vast collections of data. Among the benefits of using relational databases is the execution of complex queries, either through search engines or interactive data visualisations, as well as the ability to collaboratively input data while ensuring consistency. Our database was structured using Linked Open Data (LOD) standards that allow us to share it with other researchers and art organisations and institutions facilitating interoperability. These LOD standards include the CIDOC-CRM ontology and controlled vocabularies (such as the Getty Vocabularies). The database can be queried in different ways: with a menu-assisted query tool, an interactive map, and a timeline. The implications of adopting such methodologies and tools are not only practical, but also ethical and ideological. Data collection and entry requires deciding upon essential elements that define and describe exhibitions. This is a process shaped by the perspective and choices of the data researcher as well as by external constraints imposed by the database. The data generated in the process represents only certain elements of a broader narrative that must conform to the database’s rigid structure. Both the conditions for data capture and database modelling stem from specific epistemologies and cultural contexts, adding layers of context and subjectivity to the end result. A significant element of our approach has been the interrogation of the principles and knowledge forms that have shaped the standards we use the CIDOC CRM in the database, bringing our critical reflections and responses to the interactions users have with our data.
MHU