This lightning talk offers a candid, quickfire reflection on DAM and collections management in memory institutions – where we have come from, where we find ourselves now, and why well-intentioned systems so often fail to deliver on their promise.
Looking ahead, it calls for radical professional interdisciplinarity and more meaningful collaboration between curators, collections specialists and creators. Above all, it argues for a declaration of independence from technological determinism, reaffirming that tools should support professional judgement, institutional mission, and public value, not define them.