Leo Cao war von Oktober 2024 bis März 2025 Fellow am Cais. In seinem Fellow-Projekt untersuchte er die Auswirkungen digitaler Plattformen wie Google Arts & Culture auf den deutschen Kultursektor. Vor dem Hintergrund der zunehmenden Bedeutung digitaler Plattformen für die Online-Kulturvermittlung setzt sich die Forschung mit den Chancen und Herausforderungen einer Zusammenarbeit von Kultureinrichtungen mit Technologieunternehmen wie Google auseinander. An diese Forschung knüpft der nun im Convergence Journal veröffentlichte Artikel „Google Arts & Culture and the platformization of cultural heritage: Convergence, gamification, and shifting positions of institutional partners“ an.
Abstract
This study examines the history of Google Arts & Culture (GA&C) platform through a web archival analysis of its websites, mobile applications, and institutional communications. By reconstructing a historical timeline, it analyzes how the platform’s sociotechnical design and institutional positioning have shifted over time. Methodologically, the study combines web and app archival analysis, partner-facing email records, as well as interviews with a GA&C employee and institutional representatives. The findings reveal three interrelated dynamics. First, GA&C emerged through a process of convergence, consolidating diverse digitization, preservation, and storytelling initiatives under a unified corporate brand. Second, particularly on its mobile app, the platform has increasingly prioritized user-facing engagement strategies, including gamified and AI-enabled experiences, diverging from earlier institution-centered design principles. Third, despite its self-presentation as a technological facilitator, GA&C has exercised sustained editorial power by curating content, defining thematic priorities, and shaping cultural narratives. These dynamics position GA&C as a networked and platformized memory institution whose governing logic increasingly privileges user engagement over institutional needs. The study contributes a historically grounded account of platformization in the cultural sector and highlights its implications for institutional participation and cultural mediation.
Cao, T. L. (2026). Google Arts & Culture and the platformization of cultural heritage: Convergence, gamification, and shifting positions of institutional partners. Convergence The International Journal Of Research Into New Media Technologies. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565261431167