For researchers, students, and practitioners in art history and architectural history, meaningful access to high-quality digital surrogates of cultural heritage is fundamental. Our work in visual pedagogy, digital scholarship, and computational analysis depends on a rich and accessible public domain.
However, “public domain” does not always equate to “publicly accessible.” Many in our field consistently encounter legal, technical, and economic barriers that restrict the use of digital heritage, even for materials long out of copyright.
A new global initiative, the Open Heritage Statement, is working to address this challenge directly. Convened by the TAROCH Coalition and Creative Commons, the statement is a formal call for equitable access to public domain heritage in the digital environment. It identifies the critical need to remove unnecessary barriers that hinder research, limit creative reuse, and weaken cultural rights.
The statement’s primary goal is to catalyze an international dialogue toward a new UNESCO standard-setting instrument. Such a framework would provide clear, shared principles for cultural heritage institutions worldwide, aiming to create the consistency and support needed to unlock our shared digital past, a goal that directly aligns with the research and stewardship missions of the digital cultural heritage community.
This initiative represents a critical step toward securing the open digital future that research and pedagogy depend on. To understand the full scope of this movement, explore the complete Open Heritage Statement and its proposed framework for global access.