Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) awarded to the project 'Digital Bate'

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The Bate Collection of Musical Instruments and DiSC have been awarded the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) for the joint project 'Digital Bate' led by Dr Emanuela Vai (Bate Collection and Archives) and Professor David de Roure (Digital Scholarship). 

SIF investments focus on identifying and developing high-impact, flexible and highly innovative or creative project concepts that have far-reaching impact, typically through attracting substantial external funding, or significantly advancing research outreach, translation and commercialisation. The project, awarded a £104,487 grant, will provide a platform for research using the world-class collection of musical instruments held in the Bate Collection.

'Digital Bate' represents a stimulating opportunity to apply digital humanities tools to advance research on our world-class collection of musical instruments at the Bate Collection, while fostering interdisciplinary and methodologically rich approaches to object preservation, and expanding opportunities amongst heritage professionals, researchers, the creative industries and the public alike to interact with historical musical instruments within GLAM environments. The support from SIF is crucial for moving the collection to the new site, developing new exhibition possibilities, and pioneering new approaches to museum practice in the post-digital era.

Dr Emanuela Vai (Academic Lead, Bate Collection of Musical Instruments)

The project will see the Bate closely collaborating with Oxford's GLAM and with the SRF-funded Digital Scholarship initiatives. 3D digital models of selected musical instruments will be developed together with studio quality immersive audio samples. The digitisation of the Bate Collection will offer creative use and innovative development of new digital products, in collaboration with the technology, creative industries and heritage sectors.

Professor David De Roure (Academic Lead, DiSc Digital Scholarship)