AI supports museum curation for wayang golek collections

What the study found: AI can support curatorial work by enabling automated cataloguing, enriching metadata, and facilitating digital storytelling to enhance audience engagement. The study also notes that cultural authenticity and ethical data governance remain significant challenges.
Why the authors say this matters: The authors conclude that AI may help museum professionals improve collection management, expand cultural access, and support collaborative curation, provided ethical and cultural considerations are built into system design.
What the researchers tested: The paper examines AI in museum and archival practice from a library and information science perspective, focusing on the preservation of wayang golek, a traditional Indonesian wooden puppet theatre. The prototype was developed using Figma Make, a generative AI tool used for metadata creation, knowledge organisation, and digital collection management.
What worked and what didn't: The findings indicate that AI can assist with automated cataloguing, metadata enrichment, and digital storytelling. However, the abstract also states that concerns about cultural authenticity and ethical data governance are important unresolved issues.
What to keep in mind: The available summary does not describe detailed experimental results, comparison groups, or performance measures. The scope is focused on a wayang golek case study and on a prototype built with Figma Make.

Key points

• AI was reported to support automated cataloguing in museum and archival work.
• The study found that AI can enrich metadata and help with digital storytelling.
• Cultural authenticity and ethical data governance were identified as significant challenges.
• The authors say the approach may improve collection management and expand cultural access if ethics and culture are built into design.
• The case study focused on preserving wayang golek and used a prototype built with Figma Make.