Anita Brunner-Irujo, MA
Anita Brunner-Irujo, responsible for the Digital Media Department of the Universalmuseum Joanneum, wrote the strategy paper for the digital transformation of the museum.
Job title: Head of Digital Media Department
Company: Universalmuseum Joanneum
I work in: Graz
I've been working here since: 2013
My contact:
www.brunnerirujo.at
LinkedIn
www.museum-joanneum.at/digital
What I do:
I lead the Digital Media Department as a service function for all 19 museums and research institutes of the Universalmuseum Joanneum. My main task is the strategic and technical development of digital visitor contact points with our institutions. This primarily involves communication in close coordination with marketing and the press, but also the support of art projects and the mediation of individual museums, as well as the development of digital measures to promote digital transformation in cooperation with IT.
Why I love my job:
My job is very diversified because of the wide range of areas I work in. It also allows me to have direct contact with artists, which sometimes results in great ideas for the digital field.
Important skills in my job:
I feel that about 80 per cent of my job consists of communicating what we do in digital media. This includes a lot of educational work, as this area is still a big question mark for many people. Digital literacy is necessary in order for us to get support for projects, either from the departments themselves or in budget contexts.
My biggest success in my career so far:
My Master's thesis in Content Strategy dealt with the digital strategy of the Universalmuseum Joanneum. After completion, I presented the work to my supervisor and convinced him to implement the project in his company. Over the last two years, I have worked with the IT Management team to select an agency, coordinated several workshop days and finally wrote the strategy paper on the digital transformation of the Universalmuseum Joanneum, which was published in December 2019. This makes us the first museum in Austria to publish such a strategy.
I learned this during my studies for my professional life:
Above all, my studies opened my eyes to the breadth of the subject. You don't have to be an expert in all areas yourself, but you have to know what expertise is needed to achieve the desired goal and how to approach stakeholders to get support. I brought a lot of previous knowledge with me, which has complemented wonderfully with the new inputs. Through project work, such as the SEO analysis of our website, I was able to initiate cooperation with SEO experts who have now been with us for years, and through this cooperation, we have learned a lot ourselves. I was also able to initiate cooperation with a UX agency recently, which now supports us in the development and improvement of internal digital solutions and the relaunch of the website. Furthermore, I was able to establish important contacts in the content strategy community.
The job opportunities in my field:
The digital media offer numerous job opportunities in many fields. But the chances of doing this job in a cultural enterprise are infinitesimal due to the financial constraints in the industry. It must be said, however, that more and more museums are now creating positions with a focus on digital media, as the need for this has been recognised.
That's how I got my job:
Originally I come from the field of graphic and web design, but then I took some time off to study art history. This led me to America in 2006, where I specialized in the emerging field of marketing automation. When I returned to Austria in 2013, a replacement was being sought in the visitors' department of the Universalmuseum Joanneum. When the replacement expired, I moved to the Marketing and Communication department, where the Digital Media department was finally established, which I have been heading since 2017.
Me about my job:
I always find it fascinating when people, through education, understand how much the digital is already permeating their lives without them being aware of it. There is still a lot of news associated with this area, but also fears and open questions. These will accompany us for a long time to come, so I will certainly not get bored in my job!