Anybody off to Digital Heritage 2025 in Siena Italy? I hope to present two papers, written with a current and a future PhD student. Accommodation is disappearing fast, must be plenty of people going. Interestingly, the program says there are plenary (keynote?) speakers but it is all a mystery as far as I can tell! I’m hoping the tracks will be scheduled so I can book an appropriate flight! https://lnkd.in/gReZ37Gc
ANU Honorary Professor 2020-2025
My honorary research professor role at Australian National University has come to an end after 5 years. Thank you ANU and especially to those wonderful digital humanities and humanities people who invited me.
For those confused as to where I actually get paid to work (currently) at the University of South Australia. But next year it merges with the University of Adelaide to be Adelaide University.
Still confused? I don’t blame you!
new article out (from ICOMOS GA2023)
Champion, E., Heras, V., & Hemp, E. (2025). Heritage Changes: Digital Heritage Program. Historic Environment, 35(2), 94-107. https://australia.icomos.org/publications/historic-environment-vol-35-number-2-2023-2025/
Abstract
The Digital Heritage Program of the ICOMOS 2023 General Assembly Scientific Symposium was a two-day event including panels and presentations that brought together delegates from around the world. Recurring issues and challenges centred around access, and international guidelines recommended and required for the ethics and principles for digital capture, presentation, and dissemination. In addition, responsibilities towards Indigenous shareholders, public access to projects and paradata, and the preservation of data were part of the discussions.
Presentations highlighted powerful tools that enable the recording and understanding of cultural heritage, such as digital reconstructions of structures for material fabrication and the motion-capture of traditional dancing. In the application of digital tools to the study of both material and immaterial heritage, a common theme was found that documentation should be fundamentally user-led and user-driven. During the final session, some challenges and commitments were established to be evaluated during the next ICOMOS General Assembly.
Paper, ReMarkable or iPAD
I like doodling, hand-diagrams, sketches and paper diaries but running out of shelf space and don’t always get to scan or type in my many notes etc. I wonder if this is worth it, as it is a price similar to an iPAD I suspect.
#CFP games for change
CFP Games for Change Asia Pacific SUMMIT 2025 @ ACMI
Wednesday, 8 October 2025 We’re looking for speakers to present their game or research at this year’s summit. We’d love to hear your voice whether you’ve spoken before or a first-time speaker!
We work with our speakers to ensure presentations are impactful and engaging. Apply to present this year and let’s tell the world about the important work you are doing. https://g4capac.org
Upcoming CFPs
| *START* | DUE | CONF | THEME | LOCATION |
| 29/11/25 | 12/6/2025 | OZCHI2025 | Generative Intelligences, Planetary Futures (29/11-3/12) | Sydney Australia |
| 1/12/25 | 8/6/2025 | ICIDS2025 | Interactive Storytelling | Malta |
| 2/12/25 | 6/6/2025 | DH Australasia | Digital Archipelagos, Digital Humanities Australasia 2025 | Canberra Australia |
| 15/12/25 | 1/8/2025 | TAG | Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG): Theory in Action | York UK |
| 15/12/25 | 16/5/2025 | SIGGRAPH ASIA | Generative Renaissance | Hong Kong |
| 1/02/26 | ? | DIGRAA | Digital Games Research | Sunshine Coast Australia |
| 31/03/26 | ? | CAA2026 | to be confirmed | Vienna Austria |
| 13/04/26 | 4/9/2025 | CHI2026 | Human Factors in Computing Systems (ACM CHI) | Barcelona Spain |
| 15/04/26 | 5/6/2025 | SAH | Society of Architectural Historians | Mexico City Mexico |
| 26/04/26 | 15/8/2026 | CAADRIA2026 | Humanistic Computation and Intelligence | Hsinchu City, Taiwan |
| 17/06/26 | 19/9/2025 | EAH | European Architectural History Network | Aarhus Denmark |
| 12/07/26 | 14/6/2026 | scientific methods in CH | Scientific Methods in Cultural Heritage Research | Vaud Switzerland |
| 27/07/26 | ? | Digital Humanities 2026 | (27 July – 1 August 2026) | Daejeon, South Korea |
| 28/06/27 | ? | Digital Humanities 2027 | Galway Ireland | |
| START | *DUE* | CONFERENCE | THEME | LOCATION |
| 15/04/26 | 5/6/2025 | SAH | Society of Architectural Historians | Mexico City Mexico |
| 2/12/25 | 6/6/2025 | DH Australasia | Digital Archipelagos, Digital Humanities Australasia 2025 | Canberra Australia |
| 1/12/25 | 8/6/2025 | ICIDS2025 | Interactive Storytelling | Malta |
| 29/11/25 | 12/6/2025 | OZCHI2025 | Generative Intelligences, Planetary Futures (29/11-3/12) | Sydney Australia |
| 15/12/25 | 1/8/2025 | TAG | Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG): Theory in Action | York UK |
| 13/04/26 | 4/9/2025 | CHI2026 | Human Factors in Computing Systems (ACM CHI) | Barcelona Spain |
| 17/06/26 | 19/9/2025 | EAH | European Architectural History Network | Aarhus Denmark |
| 12/07/26 | 14/6/2026 | scientific methods in CH | Scientific Methods in Cultural Heritage Research | Vaud Switzerland |
| 26/04/26 | 15/8/2026 | CAADRIA2026 | Humanistic Computation and Intelligence | Hsinchu City, Taiwan |
Admitting others write better bios
I was looking for something completely different when I came across the 2020 list of Curtin University Emeritus Professors.
Somebody had written the below, more fluidly and succinctly than I have done. Well done, mysterious stranger!
Professor Erik Champion
The inaugural Curtin UNESCO Chair of Cultural Heritage and Visualisation, Professor Champion is an internationally-renown scholar in the Digital Humanities whose work attracts a diverse and interdisciplinary audience. He has produced over 100 widely cited high quality academic publications in the areas of virtual heritage and digital humanities, and advised governments and research grants councils in Europe, North America and Australia. Professor Champion is an outstanding scholar who is a sought-after speaker at international conferences. He has been the recipient of numerous research grants and awards, including a Fullbright, and his publications are on the reading lists of leading universities.
22 August: AI World Building Workshop
Planning on this one day short talks and afternoon workshops event, with architects, digital media people and game designers. Still looking for one game designer who uses AI tools to help with 3D world creation. Unfortunately we only have funding left for one flight and a hotel so needs to be based in Australia (or just as close). Event will be in Adelaide CBD. More news soon. But let me know if you are a local game designer with AI to 3D etc expertise who can run a workshop!
Interactive Pasts Conference 4
I’ve been lucky enough to be allowed to present remotely to the Interactive Pasts conference in Leiden (October 9-10) as I am not sure if I can get to Europe that month. This is my third presentation to the conference and the only time I have managed to attend was the first one but I am sure the others are just as much fun.
I Have an Axe to Grind: Immersive Historical Literacy and Interactive Pasts Through Co-play
ABSTRACT
Immersive environments (XR, game worlds) require new ways of orienting and navigating a digital “world. ” They also must discard or simplify many real-world affordances. We require a term for designing with an understanding of others’ (players’/visitors’) understanding.
Despite advances in extended reality (XR) and the “Metaverse”, I don’t yet see great attention in critical heritage studies to the important challenges and opportunities of immersive and interactive pasts. To address this apparent gap, I coined the term “immersive literacy” due to specific requirements of immersive media beyond conventional definitions of visual and digital literacy. The concept of immersive literacy extends “literacy” in the digital age, going beyond mere technical proficiency, and encompassing the ability to navigate, interpret, and critically engage with digital content (Bekele et al., 2021).
A further challenge: how to understand and design for historical immersion in a digital world? “Immersively historical literacy” is my suggested term: the ability to critically evaluate and understand the historically contextual simulated and interactive immersive experiences provided by digital cultural heritage applications. If these or similar terms are useful conceptually, can they be elaborated on to help us understand how to design digital worlds to deepen and extend immersively historical literacy? And can the presence and participation of other players help rather than hinder this?
References
Bekele, M. K., Champion, E., McMeekin, D. A., & Rahaman, H. (2021). The Influence of Collaborative and Multi-Modal Mixed Reality: Cultural Learning in Virtual Heritage. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 5(12), 79. https://www.mdpi.com/2414-4088/5/12/79https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv21r3q81.
GRANTS (AI workshop, TTRPG)
Awarded two small but welcomed grants with my colleagues:
Two UniSA Creative ‘Big Bang’ internal grants: $3000 for World-Building AI expert workshop (lead CI); looking at mid-August for AI and world building talks and workshop.
$3000 for Tabletop Roleplaying History Game prototype for State Library of South Australia (CI).
More news later after the event is organized and the prototype is developed!
new OPEN ACCESS book chapter out
Champion, E. 2025. Reworking Architecture as Art in the Age of Virtual Replication. In: Bandi, F. & Malaspina, R. P. (eds.) Real Space-Virtual Space. Aesthetics, Architecture, and Immersive Environments. Milan, Italy: Milano University Press.
“This volume explores the complex relationship between real and virtual spaces, analysing how digital media are progressively reshaping architectural and urban environments. The contributions collected investigate from different angles the impact of new technologies on spatial experiences in contemporary mediascape, from everyday life to urban spaces, to immersive architectural design. Through a combination of theoretical essays and concrete case studies, the volume focusses in particular on virtual reality (VR) as an innovative tool capable of reimagining spatial design, transforming the interaction between built environments and digital spaces, and offering new perspectives on the future of architecture, urban design and cultural heritage.”
LLM self-archiving heritage?
I saw today on linkedin that Google can now use Gemini (AI) in Google doc spreadsheets to do all sorts of useful tasks without users requiring to recall fancy formulae.
I’m now imagining similar for 3D model heritage – even specialists hate doing the bookwork to categorize and catalogue artefacts, what if AI could do this? It can already create “text to world“.
Hmm, I have an idea.
new book chapter out 22 April
Champion, E., & Rahaman, H. (2025). Mobile realities beyond vision and photorealism: On collaborative user explorations with Indigenous heritage and the use of intelligent contestation in Australia In A.-M. Herman (Ed.), Mobile Heritage: Practices, Interventions, Politics (pp. 189-206). Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Mobile-Heritage-Practices-Interventions-Politics/Herman/p/book/9781032509181
.
new old article available
I finally added this 2017 article online, but I noticed the overall issue (SAA Archaeological Record) has disappeared (or URL changed).
Article is:
Champion, E. (2017). Bringing Your A-Game to Digital Archaeology: Issues with Serious Games and Virtual Heritage and What We Can Do About It. SAA Archaeological Record: Forum on Digital Games & Archaeology, Vol. 17 No.2 (special section: Video Games and Archaeology: part two issue), pp. 24-27. March issue. PDF available at https://espace.curtin.edu.au/handle/20.500.11937/67358?show=full (and academia and researchgate).
No longer working: Society for American Archaeology URL: http://www.saa.org/Portals/0/Record_March_2017.pdf
Above image AI-generated by wordpress based on post (not in article!)
#CFP call for journal articles
#CFP call for papers Journal of Digital Media & Interaction (JDMI)
Special Issue on Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age: Innovative Approaches to Preservation and Promotion
We invite original and unpublished contributions addressing theoretical advances and practical applications of emerging technologies, methodologies, and cross-disciplinary collaborations in Cultural Heritage preservation and promotion. Contributions from computer science, digital humanities, cultural studies, anthropology, and media studies are encouraged to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue on the future of cultural heritage preservation in the digital era.
🔗 Learn more and submit here: https://proa.ua.pt/index.php/jdmi/call_papers
🗓️ Submission deadline: March 31, 2025
call for papers
| *START* | DUE | CONF | THEME |
| 11/06/25 | 4/3/2025 | Europeana 2025 – Preserve, Protect, Reuse | Europeana 2025 – Preserve, Protect, Reuse |
| 17/06/25 | 28/2/2025 | XR Salento | eXtended Reality (online 250; early face to face 640) |
| 22/06/25 | 30/4/2025 | WAC | World Archaeology Conference |
| 25/08/25 | 9/3/2025 | CIPA | From Digital Documentation to Data-driven Heritage Conservation |
| 8/09/25 | 28/2/2025 | IEEE CH2025 | IEEE International Conference on Cyber Humanities (IEEE CH) |
| 9/09/25 | 15/3/2025 | Digital Heritage 2025 | Digital Heritage (200 Euro a day) |
| 11/09/25 | 14/3/2025 | Historicizing G.A.M.E.S. | Bern, Switzerland |
| 1/10/25 | 12/3/2025 | ECGBL | European Conference of Game-based Learning |
| 12/10/25 | ? | ICOMOS 2025 | ICOMOS 2025 General Assembly: Transhumance |
| 13/10/25 | 18/4/2025 | ICMI 2025 | 27th ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction |
| 19/11/25 | 24/3/2025 | SIGraDi 2025 | META RESPONSIVE APPROACHES |
| 29/11/25 | 2/6/2025 | OZCHI2025 | Generative Intelligences, Planetary Futures (29/11-3/12) |
| 3/12/25 | ? | AI4LAM | Fantastic Futures |
| 13/12/25 | ? | TAG | Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) Conference |
| 15/12/25 | ? | SIGGRAPH ASIA | CFP online in March 2025 |
| 1/02/26 | ? | DIGRAA | Digital Games Research |
| 15/04/26 | 5/6/2025 | SAH | Society of Architectural Historians |
| 17/06/26 | 12/9/2025 | EAH | European Architectural History Network |
| 27/07/26 | ? | Digital Humanities 2026 | (27 July – 1 August 2026) |
| 14/09/26 | 15/1/2026 | ICOM CC2026 | Cultural Connections in Conservation |
| 28/06/27 | ? | Digital Humanities 2027 | |
| START | *DUE* | CONFERENCE | THEME |
| 11/06/25 | 4/3/2025 | Europeana 2025 – Preserve, Protect, Reuse | Europeana 2025 – Preserve, Protect, Reuse |
| 17/06/25 | 28/2/2025 | XR Salento | eXtended Reality (online 250; early face to face 640) |
| 8/09/25 | 28/2/2025 | IEEE CH2025 | IEEE International Conference on Cyber Humanities (IEEE CH) |
| 25/08/25 | 9/3/2025 | CIPA | From Digital Documentation to Data-driven Heritage Conservation |
| 1/10/25 | 12/3/2025 | ECGBL | European Conference of Game-based Learning |
| 11/09/25 | 14/3/2025 | Historicizing G.A.M.E.S. | Bern, Switzerland |
| 9/09/25 | 15/3/2025 | Digital Heritage 2025 | Digital Heritage (200 Euro a day) |
| 19/11/25 | 24/3/2025 | SIGraDi 2025 | META RESPONSIVE APPROACHES |
| 13/10/25 | 18/4/2025 | ICMI 2025 | 27th ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction |
| 22/06/25 | 30/4/2025 | WAC | World Archaeology Conference |
| 29/11/25 | 2/6/2025 | OZCHI2025 | Generative Intelligences, Planetary Futures (29/11-3/12) |
| 15/04/26 | 5/6/2025 | SAH | Society of Architectural Historians |
| 17/06/26 | 12/9/2025 | EAH | European Architectural History Network |
| 14/09/26 | 15/1/2026 | ICOM CC2026 | Cultural Connections in Conservation |
upcoming conference calls
*START* | DUE | CONF | THEME | LOCATION |
| 4/06/25 | 30/1/2025 | imx2025 | ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences | Rio de Janeiro Brazil |
| 17/06/25 | 28/2/2025 | XR Salento | eXtended Reality | Otranto Italy |
| 22/06/25 | 30/4/2025 | WAC | World Archaeology Conference | Darwin Australia |
| 25/08/25 | 9/3/2025 | CIPA | Seoul Korea | |
| 9/09/25 | 15/3/2025 | Digital Heritage 2025 | Digital Heritage | Siena Italy |
| 1/10/25 | 12/3/2025 | ECGBL | European Conference of Game-based Learning | Bodø Norway |
| 12/10/25 | ? | ICOMOS 2025 | ICOMOS 2025 General Assembly: Transhumance | Lumbini Nepal |
| 13/10/25 | 19/2/2025 | CHIPLAY | Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play | Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA |
| 13/12/25 | ? | TAG | Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) Conference | York UK |
| 3/12/25 | ? | AI4LAM | Fantastic Futures | London UK |
| 15/12/25 | ? | SIGGRAPH ASIA | CFP online in March 2025 | Hong Kong |
| START | *DUE* | CONFERENCE | THEME | LOCATION |
| 4/06/25 | 30/1/2025 | imx2025 | ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences | Rio de Janeiro Brazil |
| 13/10/25 | 19/2/2025 | CHIPLAY | Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play | Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA |
| 17/06/25 | 28/2/2025 | XR Salento | eXtended Reality | Otranto Italy |
| 25/08/25 | 9/3/2025 | CIPA | Seoul Korea | |
| 1/10/25 | 12/3/2025 | ECGBL | European Conference of Game-based Learning | Bodø Norway |
| 9/09/25 | 15/3/2025 | Digital Heritage 2025 | Digital Heritage | Siena Italy |
| 31/03/25 | 11/4/2025 | EU reviews | 31-3 to 11-4 BRUSSELS?? | Belgium |
| 22/06/25 | 30/4/2025 | WAC | World Archaeology Conference | Darwin Australia |
Working on a book with questions posted here
I’m writing a short book, “3D Visualization as Critical Heritage”. I’ll post questions on earzow.com as I work through chapters: 3D As Argument; Culturally Significant Presence; Immersive Literacy; The Vanishing Virtual; The Heritage Multiverse. Chapter titles are draft but hopefully I will stick to them. The book will be in the Critical Heritage series at https://www.cambridge.org/core/publications/elements/critical-heritage-studie
Sorry I don’t have funds for open access publication.
new book chapter
My/Tatiana Estrina’s chapter “On his roles as Professor and Research Fellow” should be available to order 16 January 2025.
In:
Hui, V., Scavnicky, R., & Estrina, T. (Eds.). (2024). Architecture and Videogames: Intersecting Worlds (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003408970. [If the DOI does not work try the Routledge website.]
“This book explores and affirms the emergent symbiosis between videogames and architecture, including insights from a diverse range of disciplines.
With contributions from authorities in both architecture and videogame industries, it examines how videogames as a medium have enlightened the public about the built environments of the past, offered heightened awareness of our current urban context, and presented inspiration for the future directions of architecture. A relatively nascent medium, videogames have rapidly transitioned from cultural novelty to architectural prophet over the past 50 years. That videogames serve as an interactive proxy for the real world is merely a gateway into just how pervasive and potent the medium is in architectural praxis. If architecture is a synthesis of cultural value and videogames are a dominant cultural medium of today, how will they influence the architecture of tomorrow?
The book is split into seven sections: Cultural Artifacts, Historic Reproduction, Production Technologies, Design Pedagogy, Proxies and Representation, Bridging Worlds, and Projected Futures.”
CFP: Journal articles
Journal of Digital Media & Interaction (JDMI)
Special Issue on Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age: Innovative Approaches to Preservation and Promotion
We invite original and unpublished contributions addressing theoretical advances and practical applications of emerging technologies, methodologies, and cross-disciplinary collaborations in Cultural Heritage preservation and promotion. Contributions from computer science, digital humanities, cultural studies, anthropology, and media studies are encouraged to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue on the future of cultural heritage preservation in the digital era.
🔗 Learn more and submit here: https://proa.ua.pt/index.php/jdmi/call_papers
🗓️ Submission deadline: February 28, 2025
Ear Zow Digital