Named after the small red sticker that once guided scholars through legacy 35mm slides, The Red Dot is here to help you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of visual and material research. While rooted in the University of California, Santa Barbara community, our posts are open to all.
At MIRL, we engage with art history, digital humanities, and material culture through hands-on research and archival projects. Guided by our core principles—critical engagement with visual and material culture, ethical stewardship of images and data, and innovative approaches to research and pedagogy—we work at the intersection of technology and the humanities. We are especially interested in how digital tools can expand the study of images, objects, and spaces.
Here, we’ll share insights on Digital Art History and Architectural History, highlight new image and data resources, discuss copyright and ethical considerations, and spotlight events that shape our field.
The Red Dot © 2025 is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
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May 18: International Museum Day
Some links to get you started – check out news, programs, virtual tours and more: Host: The International Council of Museums (ICOM) Twitter Instagram Google’s Arts and Culture blog American Alliance of Museums’ Alliance Blog Read more
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DH Monday: Using Augmented Reality and 3d imagery to study, preserve and advocate for cultural heritage sites
Today Google and Google Art & Culture are highlighting Heritage on the Edge – 5 heritage sites with 1 common threat: climate change. Researchers worldwide are using technology to protect cultural sites against climate change and advocate for saving the world’s shared cultural heritage. Read more
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DH Monday: CFP – 2020 virtual interiorities symposium
Florida Atlantic University | School of Architecture Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA October 17-18, 2020 CALL FOR PAPERS & CREATIVE WORK: virtual interiorities offers a critical forum for presenting creative practices and scholarship of historical, theoretical, realized, and speculative work involving virtual reality, architecture, and design. More specifically, it promotes innovation in design theory, pedagogy, research,… Read more
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Explore Library of Congress’s Digital Collections
Dive into the Library’s Digital Collections to explore just about any topic imaginable. Click through historical portraits and cityscape photographs, listen to sound recordings and oral histories, study American history and world cultures, discover local history and folklife traditions, explore maps, music, manuscripts and so much more. With digitized collections of more than 2.4 million… Read more
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DH Monday: CFP – Urban Assemblage : The City as Architecture, Media, AI and Big Data
Dates: 28-30 June 2021 Places: London / Hatfield, UK / Virtual Early Abstracts: 30 June 2020 This conference is planned as a hybrid in-person and virtual event. If necessary it will be moved to a fully virtual format. The keynote will be held in London. In-person presentations will take place in the University of Hertfordshire campus… Read more
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A Virtual Tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Oak Park Studio, 1898-1909
At his Oak Park Studio (1898-1909), Frank Lloyd Wright developed a uniquely American form of architecture, heading a movement later referred to as the “Prairie School.” Major buildings of Wright’s Prairie Era, including the Larkin Administration Building, Unity Temple, and the Frederick C. Robie House, were all designed at this site. Now you can virtually… Read more