University of Richmond’s Distant Viewing Lab Receives $1M Mellon Foundation Grant to Expand Access to AI Tools

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND — The Distant Viewing Lab at the University of Richmond has received a $1,000,000 Mellon Foundation grant to expand access to computer vision models used in digital humanities research.

Founded by data science and statistics professor Taylor Arnold and digital humanities professor Lauren Tilton, the Distant Viewing Lab uses and develops computational techniques to analyze visual culture on a large scale.

One component of this work is the Distant Viewing Toolkit, which offers users access to AI-powered computer vision models with no coding or special hardware required, allowing quick analysis of large collections of film, photography, artwork, and other visual media.

This three-year grant will focus on sharing the Digital Viewing Toolkit and other resources with library, archive, and museum professionals, higher education faculty, and digital humanities researchers.

“Our goal is to eliminate technical barriers that often prevent participation in digital humanities research,” said Lauren Tilton. “The toolkit empowers users to explore fundamental questions in visual culture studies, such as: How do elements like color, composition, and iconography change across time periods or regions? What patterns emerge when analyzing thousands of images or films from museum collections or archival materials?”

The grant will also fund support for users through training and research workshops, educational resources, new platform capabilities, and a culminating conference at the University of Richmond.

The Distant Viewing Lab was previously supported by grants from the Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The tools and educational resources developed through this grant will be freely available through the Distant Viewing Lab's website, continuing the lab's commitment to open-source, accessible digital humanities resources.

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