Editorializing open culture through platform intervention: the case of Curationist

This paper uses Curationist as a case study to argue for the necessity of proactive editorialization, grounded in community-driven co-creation, by cultural heritage aggregation platforms. Launched in 2022, Curationist hosts over 4.4 million open access images and metadata aggregated from nine museums worldwide. The platform distinguishes itself by dedicating financial resources not only to support digitization through grant co-applications but also to develop editorial features through residency and fellowship programs that foreground historically underrepresented voices.<br/><br/>Theoretically, the paper is situated within critical platform studies, exploring the sociopolitical implications of platformization in the cultural sector. While digital platforms often convey an aura of objectivity, they perform inherently political roles in mediating the interaction between cultural institutions and the public. In an increasingly platform-centered media ecology dominated by algorithmic manipulation that conditions the visibility of social memories, the cultural sector continues to value editorial practices that emphasize institutional authority and interpretive expertise. How does Curationist as an emerging platform both reflect and challenge these dynamics?<br/><br/>Methodologically, the paper combines computational content analysis (i.e., topic modeling) of the editorial features (N=75) on Curationist with in-depth interviews with fellows, critics, and staff members involved in the creation of these essays and exhibitions. This is complemented by discursive interface analysis of the platform’s various affordances and critical discourse analysis of the initiative’s annual reports. The findings offer a situated understanding of how content aggregation platforms can actively address biases in historical representation while fostering the contextualized interpretation and use of open access cultural collections.