In real life: immersive experience and the future of travelling exhibitions
In recent years the rise of the immersive exhibition has seemingly been unstoppable. In hundreds of cities around the world, audiences are regularly invited to encounter the works of well-known artists, but of course without the original works themselves – a real disruption to the traditional museum-exhibition experience.
This presentation explores the profile of the immersive, the ‘digital native’ consumers of the experiences, and asks should museums try to compete or work together with these technologies to better our own touring offers? How can more traditional touring models adapt to provide experiences without presenting original objects? With sustainability front and centre of our work going forward, do non-object, immersive exhibitions offer a potential solution to continue furthering the sharing of knowledge but without the environmental impact of shipping objects around the world?
Outcomes: what will participants get from this session? Skills, knowledge, experience etc.
Participants will re/consider the goals of traveling exhibition and content exchange using the metrics of visitorship, gross receipts and environmental impact.
Participants will discuss the value of seeing artifacts versus having an experience with the object.
Participants will discuss the difference between an immersive exhibition and an immersive experience.
Traveling exhibitions will be examined from a sustainability perspective.
Facilitator
International Engagement Manager
Session speakers
International Engagement Manager
In the not so distant past, an exhibition without original works of art or objects might not have been considered a ‘real’ cultural offering, but the rise in popularity of immersive exhibitions, presenting an experience through digital tools, soundscapes, installations and other forms of mixed reality, has proved that to be wrong. Visitors around the world, particularly younger generations who are actively seeking a memorable, shareable experience, are making traditional exhibition-makers rethink our trade. But is this a current trend or something for the long-term? Olivia will look at how the British Museum is approaching exhibitions without objects and how the museum can work alongside these immersive offerings.
Immersive experiences vs. traditional exhibitions with original objects: is this the central question?
What does immersion offer that works of art do not? What are the new generations looking for in museums?
Gamification, participation, sound or olfactory immersion and, in short, placing the visitor at the centre of the exhibition experience are concepts that we must keep in mind because they help to improve the mediation of content.
Isabel will analyse how the visitors experience within exhibitions is changing focusing in some examples that include new technologies...or not.
Isabel is the Director of the Exhibitions and Collection Area at “la Caixa” Foundation. Her responsibilities include developing the cultural and scientific exhibition programs for “la Caixa” Foundation’s network centres across Spain.
Canadian Museum of History
“Large, immersive, multimedia experiences are not exhibitions” or “They don’t have real tangible artifacts, so they aren’t meant for our visitor profiles.” These are a couple of the reasons many traditional museums have been using to justify not bring in the immersive, multimedia experiences. Everyone thought they would be a fad that would quickly pass, therefore there wasn’t any reason to dive into deeper analysis. Five years later, we can see that these immersive experiences are still going strong, and museums are starting to question their original stand. How do museums compete? Should they compete at all? Should they embrace these experiences and augment with artifacts, interpretation, and programming?
Julie will share discussions she is currently having in her own institution, as well as with colleagues from other museums around the world on the matter of multimedia experiences vs exhibitions in traditional museum galleries.
Co-chair, International Committee of Exhibition Exchange
Washington, DC
United States
As touring exhibitions are naturally connected to national and international travel, they can be perceived negatively due to concerns about their impact on the planet and about the long-term sustainability of their models. Hillary will explore how immersive, digital or online exhibitions can change how we see exhibition exchange while reducing our environmental impact.
