Speakers

Mia Ridge

Digital Curator for Western Heritage Collections, British Library

Dr Mia Ridge is the British Library’s Digital Curator for Western Heritage Collections. As part of the Library’s Digital Scholarship team, she helps enable innovative research based on the British Library’s digital collections, offering support, training and guidance on applying computational research methods to historical collections.

Mia has published, taught and presented widely on her key areas of interest including: user experience design and human-computer interaction, open cultural data, digital history, and audience engagement and participation in the cultural heritage sector.

In 2021, she co-authored The Collective Wisdom Handbook: perspectives on crowdsourcing in cultural heritage. She is a Co-Investigator on the Living with Machines project, where she leads public engagement with digital scholarship and heritage collections through crowdsourcing. Living with Machines is a major inter-disciplinary historical and data science research project analysing digitised sources to provide new insights into mechanisation in the industrial revolution. Her work engaged over 5,500 volunteers in research for the project. In 2023, she co-curated the Living with Machines exhibition at Leeds City Museum.

Find Mia online
Website
Mastodon

Robert McLellan

Program Manager, Language Data Commons of Australia / University of Queensland

Robert dhurwain McLellan is a proud Gooreng Gooreng descendant of the Wide Bay region, a community researcher, and an experienced Director, governance and engagement practitioner. A strong advocate for truth telling and speaking up for Aboriginal people’s rights and justice, economic advancement, and to ensure First Nations voices are authentically valued and embraced across all levels of society, Robert is passionate about revitalising Indigenous languages and building culturally inclusive, honourable, and cohesive communities.

Find Robert online
LinkedIn

Andrea Lau and Jack Zhao

Co-founders and Directors, Small Multiples

Andrea Lau and Jack Zhao are co-founders and directors of Small Multiples, a leading data visualisation studio based in Sydney, established in 2011. Andrea has been a passionate teacher of data and visual literacy, including being a university instructor. As the owner and operator of a small business for over a decade, Andrea has developed a unique perspective on bringing together the intersection of data, design, and business for her clients, and leading a fulfilled team. Jack brings extensive experience working with multi-disciplinary teams and creating breakthrough innovations that drive meaningful change for our communities. He is passionate about unlocking the hidden power of data to help tell stories about people and bringing our diverse communities closer together.

Find Andrea and Jack online
Website
LinkedIn