This text by the team of the Uppsala Informatics and Media Hubfor Digital Existence (the Hub), at Uppsala University, recounts thebirth and developments of a particular form of outreach activity andcollaborative research, the Human Observatory for Digital Existence, through cooperation between the Hub and a cultural institution: The Sigtuna Foundation. It is structured in three parts. In Part I. Beginnings:a chronicle by Amanda Lagerkvist, she tells the story of how she foundedthis initiative, its rationale, main upshots, a few challenges and the creation of new academic values. Part II. Experiences and voices from the Human Observatory is compiled by Matilda Tudor, Jenny Eriksson Lundströmand Maria Rogg. Here members of the research environment and Human Observatory report about rewards and experiences of the activities of the past years. A final part, Part III: Conclusions for the future is jointly writtenby Amanda Lagerkvist and Jacek Smolicki, and points toward innovativedirections in which the Human Observatory may be taken in its next phase.