A ERA DIGITAL E OS ESPAÇOS CULTURAIS: A aplicabilidade dos recursos digitais na promoção e fortalecimento da comunicação em museus maranhenses

Abstract

On a daily basis, we observe the power that digital actions have over society, and how the internet establishes new rules and habits, influencing and modifying the behavior of individuals. We are living in a time when culture feels the impact of the digital age and seeks to adapt to the new context it has entered. In this sense, museums—cultural spaces that hold collections telling history, safeguarding, and preserving the memories of a people—are carriers of cultural, material, and immaterial heritage, and have awakened to the need to enter the digital environment. This work aims to understand the influences of the digital age on the promotion of the Museum of Image and Sound and the Museum of Maranhão Gastronomy, in strengthening their social function and relationship with their audiences. The goal is to understand the digital landscape within the context of Maranhão‘s museums and analyze the digital strategies developed by these spaces, based on the strong presence both have in the digital scenario. The methodology used is an exploratory, descriptive, bibliographic, and field research approach, employing specific instruments such as guides for interviews previously sent to professionals and forms for collecting data on museum visitors. Regarding the analysis of the interviews, this was done through transcribing recorded audios and analyzing forms with closed questions applied in person. The study offers insights into the relationship between culture, communication, and technology, characterizing the interdisciplinarity of the research, as well as providing an understanding of the process of building the digital identity of cultural spaces, as well as strengthening the connection between museums and their audiences through museological management and the challenges posed by digital culture. The research presents satisfactory results regarding the connection between physical spaces and the digital world, and concludes that contact with technology is essential to prevent spaces from becoming obsolete, as well as the maintenance of digital communication and management actions that enhance the visibility of these spaces.