Curating a year long public programme that explored the impact of digital technologies on humanity
In 2023–2024, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum selected “Digital Dilemmas” as its guiding theme, inviting visitors to reflect on how digital technologies shape life in contexts of crisis and care. I was commissioned to curate a year-long public programme that would translate this theme into concrete encounters between artists, humanitarian workers, researchers and the public.
Working in close partnership with the Museum’s Executive Director, the ICRC Senior Tech Diplomat Philippe Stoll, and Valérie Gorin from the Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies, I developed a programme architecture that aligned cultural programming with live humanitarian debates. Together, we invited an international group of artists, data practitioners and humanitarian actors to co-create talks, workshops and participatory labs exploring issues such as surveillance, misinformation, algorithmic bias and digital self-defence.
The programme marked a shift for the Museum from traditional expert panels to participatory formats: museum lates, artist-led data storytelling sessions, workshops on reading satellite images or cleaning your phone, and immersive experiences that helped visitors understand decision-making in conflict zones. A targeted outreach strategy, developed with the Museum team, brought a significant proportion of humanitarian professionals into the audience, turning the museum into a reflective space for those working on the frontlines of digital change.
My leadership role throughout was to hold the strategic frame, broker and steward cross-sector partnerships, and ensure that the voices of affected communities remained central as we experimented with new formats. I translated the programme’s insights into the bilingual publication “10 Ideas for Purpose-driven Digital Leadership in Museums”, offering museum leaders a practical, values-led roadmap for navigating digital transformation grounded in humanitarian principles.
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Dr Oonagh Murphy 
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