Frédéric Julien

The Artsdata Linked Open Data Ecosystem: A New Project for the Performing Arts

One hand holds a phone parallel to the ground while another points a finger at the screen. A web of linked data shoots out above the screen.CC BY 4.0

The Linked Digital Future initiative (LDFI), as we have known it until now, is giving way to an exciting new project, thanks to funding from the Canada Council of the Arts and the Government of Canada’s Canada Cultural Investment Fund and Community Services Recovery Fund. A project that will continue to enhance the discoverability of the performing arts, while growing and strengthening the community surrounding the Artsdata knowledge graph. We call it the Artsdata Linked Open Data Ecosystem. 

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Dessa Hayes

2023-2024 Digital Discoverability Program: Call for Participation

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A hand holds a smartphone horizontally, displaying Google search results for “Events near me today”. An arrow points to the results, with the invitation to “Boost your digital presence so audiences can easily find your organization (and your events)”.

Calling all performing arts organizations! You are cordially invited to participate in the newest edition of CAPACOA’s Digital Discoverability Program, as part of the Linked Digital Future Initiative (LDFI) and in support of the Artsdata project.

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Frédéric Julien

We should not rely on AI to solve the problems of live performance discoverability

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Tablet showing a graph of the number and sources of events in Artsdata, beside the LDFI logo and "Annual Report 2022-2023). There are abstract, interlinked diamond shapes in the background.

The Linked Digital Future initiative was launched in 2018 to promote the discoverability of the live performance sector. After just over four years, has this discoverability challenge remained just as critical? Or has increasingly advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) solved the problem for us?

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Frédéric Julien

New Report Paves the Way for Better Representation of Indigenous Artists

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Report cover featuring a representation of an eagle. Original work of art: Mike Alexander.CC BY-SA 4.0

Indigenous artists have historically been underrepresented or inaccurately represented in library catalogs and in knowledge sharing platforms such as Wikipedia. The latest report from the Linked Digital Future Initiative addresses this issue in relation to Wikidata, an open knowledge base that is part of the Wikimedia movement. 

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Frédéric Julien

Indigenous Artists Shine Equally on our Stages as in the Constellation of Linked Data

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Four people form a semicircle on stage, smiling and holding a series of hoops in their outstretched hands.

Two years ago, the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance (IPAA) and the Canadian Association for the Performing Arts (CAPACOA) set out to undertake an unusual project. Noting the scarcity of information about Indigenous artists in open databases, the two associations saw a gap that had to be filled.

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Frédéric Julien

The LIVE Directory: At the Crossroads of Performing Arts and Open Data

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Audience members at Cabaret-Théâtre du Vieux-Saint-Jean.CC-BY 4.0

CAPACOA is thrilled to announce that the LIVE Performing Arts Directory is now (in fact) live!

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Frédéric Julien

Decentralization Must Go On

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2021-2022 was another great year for the Linked Digital Future Initiative.

In spite (or because) of the pandemic, we achieved significant progress in the production of open metadata about named entities in the last year. The number of artists in the Artsdata knowledge graph increased by 108%. The number of organizations, by 163%. And more data population activities are underway to increase the amount of data about places by at least as much. Moreover, we are finally looking forward to shifting the focus back to event metadata now that the sector is fully reopened after two years of running closures.

Metatada means “data about the data”. In the performing arts, metadata can provide useful descriptive information about artists, organizations, venues and performances.

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Frédéric Julien

Wikidata award for the performing arts

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2021 was another year of ups and downs for the performing arts sector. Mostly downs, in fact. But there was one particular cheerful moment for the growing community of performing arts wikimedians.

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Frédéric Julien

Exploring charters and principles for data governance in the performing arts

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Wylie, M., Sculthorp, M, Gagnon-Turcotte, S., and Chatwin, M. (2021). A promising path to developing data governance in the performing arts sector: Exploring charters and principles for data governance. Open North and Canadian Association for the Performing Arts (CAPACOA).

“Who is able to share what type of data with whom?” and “Who should have authority over which data?”

Since CAPACOA started delving into digital transformation as a means of fostering data re-use in the performing arts, these two questions have kept surfacing. In July 2020, along with Open North, we undertook exploratory activities to seek answers to these and other data governance questions. A year later, we are happy to launch the report “A Promising Path to Developing Data Governance in the Performing Arts Sector”.

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Frédéric Julien

A Linked Digital Future: The Vision Takes Shape

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CAPACOA, Culture Creates and other partners have wrapped up Phase 2 of the Linked Digital Future initiative. This post offers an overview of our key activities and lessons learnt, as well as links to full reports.

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