Institutional context
Cultural objects held far from their communities of origin can be difficult to access, and museum records may lack the stories and knowledge needed to understand them. SummitShare grew from work by Mulenga Kapwepwe and the Women’s History Museum of Zambia to reconnect artifacts with those communities. The museum facilitated access to the Swedish Ethnographic Museum’s catalog, historical records, and initial 3D scans. Mulenga joined the Ethereum Foundation’s Next Billion Fellowship in 2023 to develop the initiative.
The pilot combined digital access with community participation in documenting heritage and proposing uses for exhibition revenue. Choma Museum helped coordinate fieldwork in Zambia’s Gwembe Valley as a trusted local intermediary. This was digital access to objects held in Sweden, not their physical return to Zambia.
System design
The Leading Ladies of Zambia exhibition presents 3D representations of six artifacts alongside stories about historic Zambian women. The software used for the ticketed pilot linked digital artifact records to museums and exhibitions, issued digital admission passes, and held ticket revenue until it could be distributed. These functions used smart contracts, programs that can hold funds and carry out agreed actions when specified conditions are met.
Initially, visitors bought tickets through a digital wallet. Ticket income was held in a digital account until agreed conditions for payment were met. The pilot allocated 80% of ticket income to the community connected to the artifacts and 20% to SummitShare. Donations followed a different allocation: 60% to the community and 40% to SummitShare. Community members used existing cooperative structures to develop and rank proposals for how funds should be used.
In April 2025, SummitShare announced a shift from ticketed entry toward open access. It also described plans for reusable tools that would let institutions and communities host exhibitions, contribute cultural information, and choose whether to attach funding arrangements.
Ethereum’s role
SummitShare uses Optimism to hold and transfer funds through its project and community wallets. These wallets require approval from multiple authorized people before funds can move, rather than giving one person sole control. Optimism is an Ethereum layer 2: a network that processes transactions separately while relying on Ethereum to help secure its records.
In the ticketed pilot, smart contracts linked exhibition passes to revenue held for distribution under agreed rules. Transfers made on Optimism create a public record showing which wallet sent funds, which wallet received them, and the amount transferred. Institutions, communities, and supporters can inspect these records independently, rather than relying only on SummitShare’s financial reports.
Status and milestones
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2026
SummitShare and Shared Histories received the Golden Nica in Digital Humanity at Ars Electronica.
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29 April 2025
SummitShare announced its move toward open access and reusable exhibition infrastructure. Ticket proceeds were in the process of being disbursed to support development projects proposed by communities.
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April 2025
The team’s operations report recorded 150–200 exhibition viewers and 30 ticket sales. Separately, fieldwork involved interviews with 59 participants from four community clubs.
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13 December 2024
The Leading Ladies of Zambia opened to the public with six digital artifacts and their associated stories.
Implementation considerations
Institutions considering a similar approach need community consent, clear rights to publish cultural material, and a process for reviewing contributions and correcting disputed information. They should also test whether ticket purchases, digital wallets, or connectivity requirements create barriers to access.
Funding arrangements need clear allocation rules, responsibility for approving payments, and evidence that recipients received and used the money as intended.