Media space: museum practices for preserving historical and cultural heritage

Abstract

This article examines the role of museums in preserving and promoting historical and cultural heritage through digital platforms (media spaces) designed to facilitate human interaction, content sharing, and the formation of public opinion in real time. This study examines the transformation of museum activities in the context of the digitalization of culture and the evolution of the media landscape. The relevance of this research stems from the need to understand the media landscape not only as a medium for the dissemination but also for the interpretation of historical and cultural heritage in an era of globalization and increasing cultural homogenization. This study aims to analyze the media landscape of museum activities through the lens of the transformation of its key functions in the digital environment. The object of this study is the media landscape as a form of cultural heritage representation (as a set of digital channels and platforms that facilitate the production, distribution, and interpretation of cultural content); the subject is the transformation of the museum’s functional structure in the context of digitalization. The methodological framework consists of discourse analysis, an interdisciplinary approach within the Digital Humanities, and content analysis. The application of these methods has made it possible to identify the characteristics of cultural heritage representation in the media environment, as well as to analyze the digital forms of its preservation and dissemination. The scientific novelty of this study lies in its examination of museum activities through a system of interrelated functions (preservation, dissemination, education, integration, and adaptation), each of which is undergoing qualitative changes under the influence of digital technologies. As a result, it has been established that digitization is transforming museums from traditional repositories into media platforms that contribute to the creation of cultural meaning. The preservation function takes the form of digital archiving and simulation; the dissemination function, that of media production; the educational function, that of interactive learning; the integrative function, that of building online communities; and the adaptive function, that of transforming the ways in which cultural heritage is presented. Digitization not only broadens access but also transforms the way cultural heritage is perceived, turning it from a static object into a dynamic media product. The practical significance of this study lies in the potential to apply the findings to the development of strategies for the digitalization of museum activities and the preservation of historical and cultural heritage in the digital sphere.