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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ACSA108 Virtual Conference: Border Consortium Workshop for Actionable Spatial Practice and Research
The US/Mexico border is home to unique spatial practices and resources, locally grounded but geographically distributed along its 1,954-mile length. This workshop provides a rare opportunity to condense this distributed content by convening a diversity of spatial practitioners, researchers, and educators in one virtual space, in order to outline challenges and opportunities specific to the… Read more
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DH Friday: The SAH Data Project Presents a Data-Driven Conversation Webinar
Because Monday is a holiday, we’re having a DH Friday instead! Join Moderator Sarah M. Dreller, Society of Architectural Historians (SAH Data Project Researcher), for a SAH webinar, “The SAH Data Project Presents a Data-Driven Conversation about the Potential Future of Architectural History Research and Publishing” on Tuesday, May 26 at 9:00 AM (Pacific Time).… Read more
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Rijksmuseum’s “hyper-resolution” photo of Rembrandt’s The Night Watch
As experienced and reviewed by BBC’s Will Gompertz. Click the image to go directly to the photo. Read more
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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