Public art plays a critical role in shaping cultural awareness and community identity; however, audiences often engage with such works at a surface level due to limited contextual and interpretive support. Public art is inherently accessible; meaningful engagement requires structured interpretive support. Metadata can serve as a medium for facilitating understanding, interpretation, and critical engagement. This paper examines how structured metadata can function as a strategic tool for transforming passive viewing into meaningful understanding, thereby advancing art literacy in public spaces. The study adopts a qualitative, design-oriented research approach and purposively selected three case studies based on their relevance to metadata use in public art interpretation and their diversity in technological implementation. Document analysis, content analysis, and secondary observational analysis were used to collect data. For instance, review of official websites, digital platforms, and interpretive materials associated with each case study. The study contributes to the fields of art education, information science, and public culture and positions metadata as an essential component of interpretive infrastructure in public spaces. It also proposes practical guidelines for metadata strategies that enrich audience engagement and accessibility and enhance the educational value of public art. The study concludes with practical recommendations for policymakers and curators and highlights how metadata-driven approaches can transform access to knowledge and reposition public art as a site of informal learning and cultural dialogue.

Authors:
Matlala Rachel Mahlatji, University of South Africa, South Africa
Daniel Mosako, University of South Africa, South Africa

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Matlala Rachel Mahlatji is currently the lecturer in the Department of Information Science, Unisa. She is interested in reading and literacies, policies and policy making, standards and guidelines, and, information and community development.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matlala-rachel-mahlatji-009a01277

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

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