James Hemsley

James R. Hemsley
James Hemsley speaking at the EVA London 2016 Conference.
Born1941 (age 84–85)
Other nameJim Hemsley
EducationUniversity of Oxford
Imperial College, London
Birkbeck College
OccupationConsultant
Known forDigital heritage
EVA Conferences
ESPRIT VASARI Project
VASARI UK

Dr James R. Hemsley is a consultant in the field of digital heritage. In particular, he is the founder of the EVA Conferences on Electronic Imaging & the Visual Arts, started in 1990 and continuing to this day.

Education and career

Hemsley was educated as a mathematician at the University of Oxford and undertook his PhD at Imperial College, London in England. Later, he also studied at Birkbeck College. During his career, he has dedicated himself to electronically mediated culture and heritage. The first EVA Conference was held at Imperial College, London in 1990, and many EVA Conferences have been held around the world, including continuing conferences in London on an annual basis. John Sunderland has written in a journal special issue dedicated to EVA:

EVA was the brainchild of James Hemsley. ... It is due wholly to his enthusiasm and literally tireless energy that EVA has achieved the success and renown that it has.

Hemsley founded VASARI UK Limited in 1993 as a result of the European ESPRIT II VASARI Project, which he project-managed, aimed at digitizing paintings at very high quality. He was also project director of the EC-supported EVA Networking EVAN projects. Among his posts, he has worked for the National Museums of Scotland.

Hemsley lives in central London. He has provided archival material on the EVA conferences to the Computer Arts Society EVA London Archive, especially early proceedings and related documents.

VASARI Project

Hemsley took a leading role in the ESPRIT II VASARI Project, including the National Gallery, London as a partner, during 1989–1992. The aim of the project was to develop a colorimetric scanner system for high-resolution digital imaging of paintings. Hemsley subsequently founded VASARI UK Limited in 1993. He was also involved with the establishment of the VASARI Research Centre for Art and Technology at Birkbeck, University of London, where he later became an emeritus member. VASARI was featured in the Financial Times and on the BBC programme Tomorrow's World.

Selected books

References

  1. ↑ Hemsley, James; Cappellini, Vito; Stanke, Gerd, eds. (2005). Digital Applications for Cultural and Heritage Institutions. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7546-3359-4.
  2. 1 2 Sunderland, John (1997). "EVA: Electronic Imaging and the Visual Arts". Computers and the History of Art. 7 (1).
  3. ↑ Hemsley, James (2013). "The EVA Conference 1990–2012: Personal Reflections". In Bowen, Jonathan P.; Ng, Kia; Keene, Suzanne (eds.). Electronic Visualisation in Arts and Culture. Springer Series on Cultural Computing. Springer. pp. 1–5. ISBN 978-1-4471-5406-8.
  4. ↑ Bowen, Jonathan P. (2020). "A Personal View of EVA London: Past, Present, Future". In Weinel, Jon; Bowen, Jonathan P.; Diprose, Graham; Lambert, Nick (eds.). EVA London 2020: Electronic Visualisation and the Arts. Electronic Workshops in Computing. BCS. doi:10.14236/ewic/EVA2020.2.
  5. ↑ VASARI project, University of Southampton, UK.
  6. ↑ A Chain of EVA Conferences Archived 2007-05-17 at the Wayback Machine, Cultivate International, Issue 3, January 2011.
  7. ↑ Clark, Sean (2024). "The EVA London Conference Archive". In Bowen, Jonathan P.; Weinel, Jon; Borda, Ann; Diprose, Graham (eds.). EVA London 2024: Electronic Visualisation and the Arts. Electronic Workshops in Computing. BCS. doi:10.14236/ewic/EVA2024.2.
  8. ↑ "EVA London Archive". Computer Arts Society. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  9. ↑ Saunders, David; Cupitt, John (1993). "Image Processing at the National Gallery: The VASARI Project". Technical Bulletin. UK: The National Gallery, London. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
  10. ↑ "VASARI: Visual Arts System for Archiving and Retrieval of Images". UK: University of Southampton. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
  11. ↑ Martinez, Kirk. "High Resolution Digital Imaging of Paintings: The VASARI Project". UK: Birkbeck College/University College London. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
  12. ↑ "VASARI Research Centre for Art and Technology". UK: Birkbeck, University of London. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  13. ↑ "People". VASARI Research Centre for Art and Technology. UK: Birkbeck, University of London. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  14. ↑ "VASARI". Financial Times. 21 December 1990.
  15. ↑ Hemsley, James R. (2014). "Twenty Five Years Ago: Still Looking at the Future". In Ng, Kia; Bowen, Jonathan P.; McDaid, Sarah (eds.). EVA London 2014: Electronic Visualisation and the Arts. Electronic Workshops in Computing. BCS. doi:10.14236/ewic/EVA2014.55.
  16. ↑ Terras, Melissa (2007). "Book Review: Digital Applications for Cultural and Heritage Institutions". Journal of Documentation. 63 (3): 431–434. doi:10.1108/00220410710746844.