The project is carried out within GPS400: Centre for Collaborative Visual Research and brings together researchers and experts from the natural sciences, artistic research, the humanities and information technology. Colleagues from the Gothenburg Botanical Garden and the University of Gothenburg Library also participate in the project.
Botanical Bildung takes as its point of departure the extensive photographic and film collection of the Gothenburg Botanical Garden. The material includes photographs, negatives, glass plates, lantern slides and transparencies, drawings, paintings, exhibition materials and short films. The collection was donated to the University of Gothenburg Library in 2025 and constitutes a visual and scientific cultural heritage of both local and international significance.
Running from 2027 to 2029, the project will survey, digitise, analyse and provide access to the collection and its metadata, while creating the conditions for their long-term sustainable preservation. The work will also include AI-based analysis, methodological development, research, education and public forms of access and engagement.
The project has previously also received funding from the Anna Ahrenberg Foundation for activities during its first year, primarily to support the digitisation of the Gothenburg Botanical Garden’s photographic and film collection.
