ReACH (Reproduction of Art and Cultural Heritage)

A global research programme exploring the digital reproduction of cultural heritage – #ReACHdialogue

About the Project

Launched at UNESCO in May 2017, ReACH (Reproduction of Art and Cultural Heritage) is a global initiative spearheaded by the V&A in partnership with the Peri Charitable Foundation that explores how to re-think our approach to reproducing, storing and sharing works of art and cultural heritage.

Context

Digital technologies are changing the cultural landscape, offering new ways to produce, store and share museum and heritage assets. However, there is no clear methodology for how museums and heritage organisations should engage with these technologies. To complicate matters, legal protocols and procedures have not adapted to these new realities, and often act as roadblocks to new practice. ReACH will bring clarity – by highlighting best practices, debating pressing issues, and drafting a convention – and offer our community a useful roadmap for dealing with reproductions in the future.

Aim

There are two fundamental goals of the ReACH programme. The first is to share best practices concerning the production, storage and dissemination of digital and physical reproductions. This will be achieved by inviting key speakers to the roundtables to share their professional experiences and to flag some of the broader challenges and opportunities. The second goal is to use the information gathered from the 5 roundtables to draft a new convention concerning the role of museums and other organisations in the reproduction of works of art and cultural heritage, which can be shared and adopted.

Outcomes

The ReACH project coincides with the 150th anniversary of Henry Cole’s 1867 Convention, which helped usher in a period where museums actively engaged in the creation of reproductions of objects from around the world. The document is inspiring in its clarity, practicality and openness to the creation and sharing of reproductions. Along with an updated version of the Convention we will produce a publication that compiles examples of the best practices selected from the roundtable discussions – as a roadmap for museums working with reproductions, as instruments for preservation and accessibility.

Project updates

10 May 2019

Adventures in 3D scanning: New models launched on Sketchfab

This is the last of three blog posts which discuss the 3D scanning of 25 objects in the museum’s collection as part of the wider exploration of digital reproductions during the Cast Courts FuturePlan project....
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5 December 2018

Scottish agency in the V&A Cast Court collection

Dr Sally Foster is Lecturer in Heritage and Conservation at the University of Stirling, and interested in why historic replicas matter.
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7 August 2018

Cast Courts Update – Four Months To Go!

Over the last few months the Cast Courts team have been extremely busy cracking on preparing the gallery for re-opening, and we are now in the final stretch before we open to the public on...
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The Team

Dr Tristram Hunt

ReACH Project Champion

Dr Tristram Hunt became Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in February 2017. He was previously Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent Central. A historian, politician, writer and broadcaster, Dr Hunt is an expert on the eighteenth and ninetee ... Read more

Anaïs Aguerre

ReACH Project Director

As project director for ReACH, Anaïs Aguerre is responsible for overseeing and monitoring the ReACH initiative on behalf of the V&A. She co-chairs the roundtable discussions and leads on the re-drafting workshops. Besides ReACH, Anaïs is the founder ... Read more

Brendan Cormier

ReACH Lead Researcher

As lead researcher Brendan works closely with ReACH Project Director and is leading on the forthcoming ReACH publication. Formerly managing editor of Volume magazine, since joining the V&A Brendan has been curating the V&A Gallery at Design Society in ... Read more

Jevgenija Ravcova

ReACH coordinator

As ReACH coordinator, Jevgenija Ravcova provides critical coordination support for the entire initiative. Jevgenija received her master’s in Modern European Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, and has worked at Christie’s Lo ... Read more

Research Partners

- Director, Factum Arte
- Director of Research and Collections, Musée du Louvre
- Director, The Warburg Institute
- General Counsel, Smithsonian Institution
- CEO, Peri Foundation
- Director, Vorderasiatisches Museum, Pergamonmuseum
- Partner, Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP
- Senior Legal Advisor, The State Hermitage Museum
- Director, Global Heritage Initiatives, Yale Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage
- Director of Cultural Heritage Protection and Security, V&A

V&A team

Antonia Boström
- Keeper of Sculpture, Metalwork, Ceramics and Glass
Angus Patterson
- Senior Curator – Sculpture, Metalwork, Ceramics and Glass
Holly Trusted
- Senior Curator – Sculpture, Metalwork, Ceramics and Glass
Corinna Gardner
- Senior Curator – Design, Architecture and Digital
Sandra Smith
- Head of Conservation
Marion Crick
- Head of Collections Management
Johanna Agerman Ross
- Curator of 20th-Century Furniture & Product Design
Charlotte Hubbard
- Head of Sculpture Conservation
Kati Price
- Head of Digital Media and Publishing
Alex Flowers
- Team Leader, Digital Learning
Lauren Sizeland
- Head of Licensing and Business Development
Anthony Misquitta
- General Counsel
Roxanne Peters
- IP Manager
Laura Jones
- Culture in Crisis International Assistant

Events

ReACH: Towards a New Convention on Digital Reproductions

Explore the role of museums in preservation and dissemination of works of art and culture, in the digital world