Museums and collections preserve cultural heritage. What if, in twenty years’ time, they were to share this responsibility with the hosts of the collection objects – and we could, at the same time, highlight their social impact? Since January 2026, the Foundation for Art, Culture and History (SKKG), in collaboration with the City of Winterthur’s Department of Culture and the Winterthur libraries, has been running an Artothek.

At this Artothek, members of the public with a library card can borrow paintings, photographs and prints. The artworks come from the city’s art inventory, the Winterthur Collection and the SKKG’s collection. Through the Artothek, the three institutions are creating low-threshold access to original works of art.

The SKKG is seeking ideas for a digital object impact monitor for the Artothek, which would make visible not only an object’s physical condition but also its social use and impact. The aim is to develop, based on data from a few dozen works of art and objects from the SKKG collection and the Winterthur Collection, a prototype application that enables the following:

1. Select a collection object from the SKKG’s digital collection or the Artothek Winterthur

• https://digital.skkg.ch/de/intro?q=artothek
• https://my.winbib.ch/suche?p_r_p_arena_urn%3Aarena_search_query=artothek

2. Record standard conservation data via an input form such as: Temperature, Humidity, Exposure to light, Condition of the object
3. Record new data on social impact via an input form for example: How many people live in the household with the object? How long was the object viewed for? Did the object spark conversations? Among other things
4. Record the circulation of the objects via an input form for example: How often was the object passed on to new hosts?
5. Develop a dashboard that brings together physical and social data

The dashboard is intended to highlight the fact that, in future, cultural artefacts will not only be preserved but also actively utilised for social purposes.

Challenge owners: Christine Müller Stalder (c.muellerstalder at skkg.ch), SKKG und Sonja Gasser (s.gasser at skkg.ch), SKKG