The situation most museums are currently facing remains compromised by the global health crisis, which has hit the sector particularly hard and accelerates the importance of digitalisation in the museum sector. But technology is not a solution in itself; particularly when not constituent to a larger strategy and equipped with comprehensive goals. DOORS (Digital incubatOr fOR muSeums) focuses on digital maturity of institutions and empowerment of their teams. The central question is how the museum sector can develop digital strategies and values to adapt and reinvent themselves to strengthen their performance, reach their audiences & develop new ones, and ensure financial recovery and sustainability. The overarching aim of DOORS is to become a truly European incubator for small and medium sized museums that will support them in their digital transformation journeys. The incubator will seed and nurture digital thinking in forty institutions resulting in a continuing network of DOORS digitally maturing actors. Through a two-stage pilot scheme, DOORS involves 40 museums in 20 innovative pilots developing digital transformation experiments in 4 concrete innovation areas. The resulting active network of European museum and innovation stakeholders will form a synergetic collaboration platform, share lessons & partner experience and publicly highlight Europe’s digital excellence for museums. Building on the support and diverse networks of the three experienced consortium partners, Ars Electronica, Ecsite and Museum Booster, DOORS invites museums practitioners, digital experts, cultural innovators and all those being interested in our collective endeavour to take part, contribute and benefit.

Science, technology and arts limn a nexus at which observers have identified extraordinarily high potential for innovation. And innovation is precisely what’s called for if we’re to master the social, ecological and economic challenges that Europe will be facing in the future. The STARTS Prize initiative will focus on the most forward looking collaborations at the crossings of art, science, technology, industry and society, will showcase achievements and encourage further collaborations and will honor the inspiring individuals and teams behind these achievements. Here, art is assigned the role of catalyst that propagates scientific and technological knowledge and skills among the general public and triggers innovative processes. Accordingly, the STARTS Prize is emphasizing, on one hand, artistic works that influence or change the way we look at technology, and, on the other hand, very promising forms of collaboration between the private sector and the world of art and culture. 8 prizewinning projects will be singled out for recognition in both categories and will be awarded each with €20,000. To provide the best possible environment for an international launch of the STARTS prize the project is linked to the PRIX ARS ELECTRONICA, one of the world’s premier awards honoring creativity and innovativeness at the interface of art, technology, science and society. The collaboration with the renowned institutions Ars Electronica, Waag Society and BOZAR allows a fast introduction to the relevant communities on an international scale and provide the necessary expertise. Their large international network assures recruiting the best possible experts to ensure a high quality in the evaluation and selection of the prize winners. The presentation of the awards and the exhibition of the prize winning works at the Ars Electronica Festival, the BOZAR Electronic Art Festival, Waag Society and eight additional major events will foster a high interest and establish reputation for the STARTS prize.