Digitalisation of crafts. Comparative approaches to Arctic fur

Abstract

Efforts to digitally engage with indigenous source communities andcraftspeople are many and diverse. This paper has as its starting point a comparisonbetween two such digital engagements, both celebrations of Arctic animal furclothing, yet each at seemingly opposite ends of a continuum of possible digitalinterfaces. Skinddragter Online and Mittimatalik Arnait Miqsuqtuit Collectivewere both launched the same year, 2015, in Copenhagen and Mittimatalik,Nunavut, Canada respectively. By comparing each with the other, our ambition isto illuminate some of the curatorial choices involved in the making of such digitalplatforms, and the consequences they have in terms of wider visibility, audiencesreached, knowledge included, and collaborative engagements invited. Postcolonialcritique can come at the expense of general outreach, conversations betweendesignated experts can be difficult to make equal. Technological sophistication canbe challenged by the digital divide. Attention to issues of cultural appropriation isa constant. Yet, driving these initiatives is the need to maintain a digital diversityin online and offline spaces.