Navigating Artificial Intelligence In Galleri

Overview

Course Details

This course, in response to urgent needs and gaps in the Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums sector, offers a rigorous and accessible exploration of the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on archives, museums, the art market, and gallery practices. It is an ideal upskilling course for museum and art gallery staff, archives personnel, heritage enthusiasts, volunteers, and students.

Participants will gain an understanding of AI and AI-powered technologies, and their practical applications in GLAM settings from automating labour-intensive tasks to digitisation and enhancing visitor engagement. The course covers crucial ethical considerations, including issues of bias, misinformation, cultural representation, and legal frameworks surrounding AI in cultural institutions.

Through a series of case studies and practical tools from the sector, this course offers a critical analysis of AI-driven innovations in collection management, digital preservation, and visitor interaction. It also explores the evolving role of digital literacy and upskilling within the museum sector, featuring insights from pioneering initiatives like the UK's first Digital Art History MSc at the University of St Andrews.

Who is this course for?

This course is ideal for museum professionals who are looking for opportunities where AI can enhance budgets and mitigate issues like underfunding or labour shortages. It will equip them for informed decision-making on implementing AI within their institutions, as well as how to collaborate with IT stakeholders and understand their expectations.

Teaching Format

Navigating Artificial Intelligence in Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums takes 50 learning hours to complete fully. This course is designed to be a self-paced experience, with pre-recorded videos, selected readings, and asynchronous discussion forums, which you can take in your own time around your schedule. All the content for this course is available from the start of the course and can be accessed at any time before the course end.

Certificate

If successful, you will receive a Certificate of Completion and a digital badge from the University of St Andrews.

Course dates

Start date:: Monday 12 January 2026
End date:: Sunday 22 February 2026
Cost:: £250
Duration:: 41 days

Course teachers

Billy Rough

Dr Billy Rough is Lecturer in the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews. His research focuses on the relationship between British art and the theatre in the long-nineteenth century, especially the work of Walter Sickert. He has published widely on his research including essays for Tate Britain's 'Walter Sickert' exhibition catalogue (2022), The British Art Journal, The Journal of the Scottish Society for Art History, Tate Britain’s Camden Town Group in Context Research Project, and the Tate: In Focus series.

Kamila Oles

Dr Kamila Oles is a Research Fellow at the University of St Andrews, specialising in digital methodologies for the curation, documentation, and preservation of cultural heritage. Her interdisciplinary expertise spans art history, archaeology, and curatorial practice, with a focus on 3D digitisation, inclusive exhibitions addressing contested memories and art diplomacy, and digital tools for heritage engagement and scholarship. Her contributions have been recognised by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Picasso Estate, and she has co-secured projects funded by the Leverhulme Trust, AHRC, and Horizon Europe. Kamila works as a digital exhibitions designer and curator, teaching inclusive hybrid exhibition design and applying digital methods to co-produce exhibitions such as the Camp Nelson museum refit, National Parks of America projects, and the Collective Memories in Fostering Unity exhibition with the United Nations House in Edinburgh. She focuses on making AI-driven digital transformation accessible to underfunded heritage institutions while equipping professionals with the skills to navigate AI’s evolving role in museums and the arts sector.