Time flies when working on something you are passionate about. On this day 10 years ago, our team was beginning a 20 percent project and taking the first step toward making more art and culture more accessible. Together, with 17 cultural institutions from 11 countries, we took a leap into the unknown without quite knowing where this journey would lead us. 

Today, millions of people from across the world have come to Google Arts & Culture to learn more about our shared history as humanity. They explore the thousands of exhibitions and stories that bring millions of artifacts — from a 230,000 year-old figurine to a modern day particle collider — to life. Families, teachers, art professionals and the culturally curious use augmented reality to bring artworks to their homes, embark on a virtual school trip through the US National Parks, AI-translate ancient Hieroglyphics or simply enjoy a digital puzzle. 

To this day, over 2,000 museums, archives, world heritage sites and local communities have come together on Google Arts & Culture to share, curate and contextualize their treasures in a way that was unimaginable 10 years ago. Back then, the thought of uploading an image to the web — let alone an ultra high resolution digitization — seemed outlandish. But with the partnership and shared passion of culture enthusiasts around the globe, today Google Arts & Culture features an expertly curated reservoir of culture that also shows the paradigm shift in how people can access culture online.                                                                         

Everything can be seen through a cultural lens

The challenge is what brings us together

While our partners broadened what kind of cultural stories they share with the world, they also pushed and inspired us to develop technologies and new formats to bring these stories to life and rouse people’s interest. For our part, we work with our partners to develop engaging tools and visually stunning experiences to transform the way people can interact with culture. For example our Art Camera and the launch of a dedicated Arts & Culture app — filled with camera-based features such as the viral Art Selfie, or augmented reality features such as Pocket Gallery or Art Filters — created new ways of engaging with art for our partners and visitors alike. While the first allowed ultra high resolution digitizations, that invite you to zoom in to brush-stroke level of paintings such as Van Gogh's “The Starry Night”, the other created a place full of engaging and contemporary features that draw you in. 

Equally important was the foundation of the Google Arts & Culture Lab in Paris — a place where artists come together with creative technologists from Google to experiment at the intersection of art and technology. I recommend everyone to roam NASA’s Visual Universe, create a Poem Portrait with Es Devlin, or try the pleasantly distracting “Blob Opera” by David Li. 

Over the past decade, our mission of making world culture more accessible to everyone through technology has evolved, and yet it remains true to its goal because of our partners' outstanding curatorial knowledge and the artifacts they share.

It is all about the people behind the scenes 

To our partners, a massive “dhanyavaad” (which means thank you in Hindi). And by partners we mean everyone: the curator spending time to create a stunning online exhibition, the art handlers who help digitize thousands of spaces and archives, the preservation expert sharing fragile treasures, the directors who believe in participating in an online platform and everyone behind the scenes. A heartfelt thank you goes out to every single person who made these 10 years possible.

Culture never stops

Looking back on the past 10 years, there were many surprises, turning points and shared experiences. But it is perhaps the pandemic, and the past year in which we all truly came to understand the strength, impact and story of perseverance that truly lies in the cultural sector. Institutions that had to close their doors to the public found innovative ways to fulfill their missions. We are humbled by their tenacity, and remain committed to supporting them with all the ways technology can help in the months and years ahead.  

The world is hungry for culture and we will continue to find new and unusual ways for everyone to interact, access and learn with culture — and hopefully be inspired to visit the “real thing” when it’s safe to do so.

Today, we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through reflecting on our history and volunteering our time to help our communities. At Google, we see his enormous contributions and his impact on the fight for equality as reflected in Americans’ search interests. He’s the most-searched civil rights movement leader to date, and search interest for his “I Have a Dream” speech spikes in the U.S. every January, the month of his birthday. 

This year, in honor of Dr. King, we invite you to visit "Still Dreaming," a miniature gallery created by Tammie Knight, designer and owner of Small Matters Miniatures, with photography from Google Arts & Culture archives curated by mixed-media artist Adrian Octavius Walker.

The gallery takes viewers on a journey through Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. It features rare photos of him taken throughout his lifetime, and you can explore the gallery thanks to footage taken by Nathaniel King. 

"Dr. King was determined to fulfill his dream of one day being treated as an equal. He continuously took action in service of that dream, even when the outcome was uncertain,” Walker says. “These images capture his drive and passion that inspired others to dream of equality in the face of uncertainty, both then and now.”

The miniature gallery also features today’s annual Google Doodle, created by Pittsburgh-based guest artist Noa Denmon. With artwork depicting parallel scenes from the 1960s and modern times, the Doodle celebrates the civil rights activist who has inspired multiple generations to join in the pursuit of equality and social justice.

Since 2004, the most searched topic in the U.S. for quotations by Dr. King is "love," bringing to mind one of his most-remembered quotations, from his 1963 book, “Strength to Love:” “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

Head to MLKDay.gov to learn about the MLK Day of Service and to find volunteer opportunities in your area.

Still looking for that perfect present? Why not gift a festive song? Blob Opera is a new machine learning experiment by artist David Li that lets you create your own festive song inspired by Opera on Google Arts & Culture.

Guide the pitch and vowel sound of our four festive blobs who stand ready to transform your musical ideas (no matter how good or bad) into beautiful harmonies. Record your creation and share it with family & friends, especially the person who already seems to have everything — you can be sure this will be their first Blob Opera.

This experiment pays tribute to and explores the original musical instrument: the voice. We developed a machine learning model trained on the voices of four opera singers in order to create an engaging experiment for everyone, regardless of musical skills. Tenor, Christian Joel, bass Frederick Tong, mezzo-soprano Joanna Gamble and soprano Olivia Doutney recorded many hours of singing. In the experiment you don’t hear their voices, but rather the machine learning model’s understanding of what opera singing sounds like, based on what it learned from the opera singers.

The resulting experiment allows you to play Blob Opera, altering pitch & vowel sounds to create your own composition. The blobs respond and harmonise to your input in real time. But no worries if you’re feeling a bit too shy to compose: You can also have the Blobs put on a festive performance while you sit back and enjoy classics like “Jingle Bells” and “O Holy Night.”

The creative holiday fun doesn’t end there. Google Arts & Culture has also created holiday-themed virtual colouring books. Find them the next time you search on Google for winter holidays like "Hanukkah," "Christmas" and "Kwanzaa."

Or venture a bit farther afield with another machine learning experiment, “The Never-Ending Holiday.” These computer-generated, surrealist-inspired short videos use Google Maps and Street View data to offer mesmerizing explorations of France, Italy and Spain. With travel restrictions in place and winter keeping many of us indoors, they can take you on a journey to famous landmarks and distant shorelines.