The Walters Art Museum

BALTIMORE, 8 May — William Walters may have died in the 19th century, but today the museum that presents the encyclopedic collection of Walters and his son Henry Walters made a bold leap into the 21st century with the uploading of more than 19,000 images of artworks, along with associated information, to the Wikimedia Commons repository. Having already eliminated admission fees at the physical museum in 2006, the museum is living up to the Free Culture promise of our time with both “free speech and free beer.”

In a time when so many cultural institutions continue with their old 20th century mandates to lock down creative rights as tightly as possible, The Walters Art Museum is extending its gift to the city of Baltimore out to all who seek knowledge of art and culture, wherever on this earth they may be.

See the links below for The Walters Art Museum’s exhibition Public Property opening on 17 June. The museum has opened its curatorial process to its online community allowing them to select a title for the exhibition, and now to crowdsource the works to be featured in the exhibition. Both interactive and inclusive, it’s an inspiring project for our time.

 
R E L A T E D . M A T E R I A L S

• Walters Art Museum / Wikimedia Press Release
• The Walters Art Museum Website

• Opening 17 June, the community curated exhibition, Public Property
• Public Property “Photocracy” page where the exhibition’s curation is crowdsourced