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Exhibiting the ‘Unexhibitable’: PERCEIVE and the Case for Digital Heritage

By LinkedInDonata Magrini and LinkedInCatlin Langford

Special Session at Digital Heritage 2025

How can cultural organisations exhibit sensitive and fragile colour materials? Is it possible to reconstruct the colours of the past? What role can new digital technologies play? This special session will consider the idea of ‘exhibiting the unexhibitable’. Based on PERCEIVE’s work, the session chairs invite researchers, academics, creatives and cultural workers to submit original work that could nurture discussion around the exhibition of cultural objects which no longer feature their original colours, or objects which cannot be exhibited because of their light sensitivity and tendency for colours to fade.

PERCEIVE (Perceptive Enhanced Realities of Coloured collEctions through AI and Virtual Experiences) works on new ways to perceive, preserve, curate, exhibit, understand and access fragile, coloured cultural heritage. Using 5 scenarios, we focus on ‘care’, ‘accessibility’ and ‘authenticity’, promoting and expanding access to cultural heritage and its wider integration in society. Research as part of PERCEIVE has focused on the latest innovations and possibilities of digital heritage, working in conjunction with world-leading cultural organisations including Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Munch Museum in Oslo and Victoria and Albert Museum in London. PERCEIVE offers a prime example of collaboration across organisations to achieve new ways of thinking and working in digital heritage.

Theme and Topics

We invite original research papers, case studies, and theoretical contributions on (but not limited to) the following topics:

  • Case studies of exhibiting fragile coloured objects via emerging digital technologies.
  • Case studies of using digital heritage and virtual technologies to explain missing, altered or fragile coloured cultural heritage and objects.
  • Case studies of using digital heritage and virtual technologies to explain conservation issues related to fragile coloured cultural heritage and objects.
  • Case studies of reconstructing missing or altered colour on heritage objects via digital technologies.
  • Educational effectiveness of digital strategies to communicate conservation and heritage issues relating to fragile coloured objects.
  • Creative design in exhibiting fragile coloured objects.
  • Creative use of fragile coloured objects in artworks or other creative projects.
  • Virtual museums.
  • Modelling and mapping altered and missing colour on heritage objects.
  • Visualising, experiencing and perceiving historic colour.
  • Accessing and interacting with coloured cultural heritage and materials.
  • Cultural and emotional significance of accessing historic coloured heritage and objects.

    • Submission Guidelines

    Types of contributions:

  • Full (10-pages including bibliography) for high standing scientific results and longer oral communication at the conference. Translates to 20-minute presentation with 10 minutes for questions.
  • Short (4-pages including bibliography) for ongoing research and shorter oral communication at the conference. Translates to 10-minute presentation with 5 minutes for questions.

    • Conference proceedings are published in Eurographics.

    All papers will have a blind peer review by the International Programme Committee (IPC). All submissions will be reviewed for originality, significance, clarity, impact, and soundness.

    Author registration and contributions submissions are accepted SOLELY through the official conference platform OpenReview.

    The guidelines for the submission in OpenReview system and the template for contributions can be found at https://digitalheritage2025.unisi.it/call-for-paper/

    Important Dates

    Submission Deadline: 15.04.2025
    Notification of Acceptance: 15.05.25 (Full Papers) / 15.06.25 (Short Papers)
    Event Date: 08 – 12 September 2025
    Event Location: Siena (Italy), San Niccolò Palace, Via Roma 56.

    Organising Committee

    Catlin Langford (PERCEIVE – V&A)

    Donata Magrini (PERCEIVE CNR)

    Contact Information

    For inquiries, please contact the Special Session Program Chair:
    Donata Magrini- donata.magrini@cnr.it

    More info can be found on the Digital Heritage 2025 conference website: https://digitalheritage2025.unisi.it/

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