Project “Talking Heads” partners visit Riga
From 15 to 17 June, an in-person meeting of the “Talking Heads” project partners took place in Riga. The meeting was dedicated to the assessment, mapping, and data collection of cultural assets for the development of artificial intelligence solutions. It continued the work started during the previous project stage in Ljubljana, with particular focus on improving the “Talking Heads” platform, developing digital personas, and structuring the materials prepared by museums.
The central part of the working programme took place at the Art Museum RIGA BOURSE, where the project partners were introduced to the latest updates of the “Talking Heads” platform. Changes to the Admin Panel were presented, taking into account the feedback collected during the Ljubljana workshop, and the next stages of platform development were discussed.
During the meeting, participants worked in depth on the question of how to transform a historical figure, artwork, or cultural heritage object into a digital persona capable of engaging in conversation. Particular attention was paid to the difference between biographical information and storytelling suitable for dialogue, as well as to how historical facts can be used in a compelling, accurate, and visitor-friendly way.
Each partner institution presented its selected persona, available source materials, research challenges, and future data collection plan. The closing discussion focused on what information will be needed in the next stages of the project, how materials should be organised for further artificial intelligence integration, and what quality standards should be followed by all participating institutions.
As part of the programme, participants also explored Riga’s cultural environment. On the first day, they took part in an interactive Old Town activity, while on the final day they visited the Latvian National Museum of Literature and Music. The visit concluded with a joint discussion on the work completed and the next project tasks.
The programme brought together project partners from Greece, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Slovenia, and Latvia, fostering international exchange of experience and cooperation in the development of cultural heritage interpretation, digital tools, and artificial intelligence solutions.
The “Talking Heads” project aims to develop a digital platform that will allow visitors to participating museums, galleries, and other cultural heritage sites to engage in dialogues with selected artworks, historical figures, and cultural heritage objects. The use of artificial intelligence will help create a personalised, conversation-based visitor experience, while maintaining a connection to verified historical and art research sources.
The project “Talking Heads – Conversations with Art from the Past” is implemented under Grant Agreement No. 101174331 and funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme (CREA-CULT-2024-COOP).
