The reopening of cultural venues on May 19 has given a new perspective to promising digital exhibition formats, which are likely to be legion this autumn. Using sound devices and large-format projections, they immerse visitors in a 360-degree fictional and narrative universe, combining aesthetics, emotions and education. The growing interest of the museum sector in such projects ( ), The proof is in the cultural programs announced The appetite of the audiovisual industry to contribute to these proposals, and the promise of increased attendance, all augur well for a revival of this type of exhibition in the coming months. In the light of the current health crisis, they are becoming a kind of safe haven for attracting and developing audiences, offering new experiences and fostering cross-sector collaborations conducive to the generation of new revenues – . They follow in the footsteps of relatively old immersive processes such as dioramas or period rooms, used in the context of a at a time when national museums are seeing their own resources melt away like snow in the sun more than fifteen immersive digital exhibitions are scheduled to roll out in Europe in 2019. This article takes a closer look at this phenomenon, analyzing the various forms of collaboration between the heritage sector and the cultural and creative industries. “analog museology ,
atInstitut du monde arabe, few museums have hosted large-scale immersive digital exhibitions.
While some have set up individual experiences accessible in virtual reality within their temporary exhibitions, such as at the Musée de l’Orangerie or Musée du Louvre, very few have decided to integrate this type of device into their permanent itineraries . The Château de Clos-Lucé, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle was a pioneer in this field, and this spring it will be launching
The integration of large-format digital exhibits or immersive experiences in museums would therefore seem to be particularly slow and gradual. In the face of increasing competition from other exhibition venues, how might this be explained?
The most obvious reason would seem to be, first and foremost, the physical presence of collections in museums. Faced with objects that bear witness to history, know-how and an aesthetic aura, wouldn’t such virtual experiences undermine museums’ historic missions of preservation, documentation and exhibition?
These considerations may come up against other, more prosaic reasons: lack of space. While the Atelier des Lumières boasts “3,300 m2 of floor-to-ceiling space, with walls up to 10 meters high”, most museums, despite their often monumental dimensions, are paradoxically faced with the impossibility of accommodating 360° projections in spaces that have become screens. As the materialization of an expographic discourse, museum spaces are often compartmentalized and divided into thematic areas according to the collections on display. In addition, the numerous natural light openings required to showcase the collections are not conducive to such projections.
In addition to the space, the time lag between physical and digital temporary exhibitions is not conducive to integrating digital formats into a cultural program that is sometimes decided 2 or 3 years in advance. Unlike a physical format, a digital exhibition can easily be produced in less than 6 months (the technologies used have an average life cycle of 18 months). The research and negotiation involved in loaning works are replaced by the production of audiovisual content and negotiation of broadcasting rights, scenographic design by the technological equipment of a venue, and media and mediation actions by a “self-supporting” exhibition where the emotion and environment thus recreated serve as a learning experience.
Implementing this type of project therefore requires skills that are often external to the heritage sector. These digital and audiovisual specialists are confronted with the museum’s expertise in exhibition design, and the exacting standards and scientific rigor that prevail there. However, the legal and organizational frameworks for these new alliances with players from the cultural and creative industries are complex for museums to integrate. They are still ill-equipped to deal with proposals that are very similar to the legal and economic models that prevail in the audiovisual sector.
Faced with these different constraints, creators, producers and promoters of immersive exhibits have turned to a wide variety of venues that more easily meet their technical specifications: heritage sites, shopping malls, convention centers, exhibition halls, art centers, industrial wastelands, and so on. Faced with sometimes demanding artistic proposals, but also with the promise of high visitor numbers (between 100,000 and 200,000 visitors per exhibition venue for an average running time of between 3 and 6 months), some museums have decided to open up their cultural programming to immersive exhibitions.
Prior to the relatively recent attraction of museums, it was exhibition venues and art centers that began to welcome, develop and promote these new forms of artistic creation . These venues have committed themselves to this dynamic by hosting exhibitions or setting up particularly innovative support programs for a professional sector that is in the process of consolidation.
as varied as Genghis Khan, Timescope, Onyo, Digital Rise, Diversion Cinéma and Tamanoir. On the support side, Le Centquatre welcomes and supports a wide range of creators and producers of immersive experiences. These project leaders regularly enrich Le Centquatre’s programming, and deploy their know-how in fields as diverse as live performance, digital arts, heritage and tourism. By way of illustration, 104, in collaboration with Diversion Cinéma, recently set up a virtual reality helmet rental system to broadcast and promote various immersive creations: (a project initially imagined by the Phi Center in Montreal).
The Museum national d’histoire naturelle, meanwhile, will be hosting an augmented reality experience to bring extinct species back to life from June 16 (name of experience: ) and a polysensory exhibition in the autumn by Expédition Spectacles :
Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, Paris Musées,Institut du monde arabe and many other museums have already hosted or are preparing major exhibitions in close collaboration with a particularly rich and diverse ecosystem of digital producers and creators.
3. Towards co-design logics between the heritage sector and the cultural and creative industries?
Museum partners working on immersive exhibitions include exhibition designers, start-ups and audiovisual producers.
Often long-standing supporters of museums, exhibition designers are opening up their activities to these new immersive formats. This is the case, for example, with French and Belgian companies such as or, which have developed exhibitions on Picasso, Pompeii and Brueghel respectively.
Other companies in the urban scenography and events sector, such as the Atelier ATHEM&JAM, were also able to adapt their proposals for videoprojection or videomapping projects, either indoors or on the facades of monuments . Outside, many monuments have been the subject of spectacular projections, such as Reims Cathedral (for Moment Factory), Musée du Louvre or Fondation Louis Vuitton (for ATHEM&JAM). Indoors, by way of illustration, the Grande Halle de la Villette hosted the project during summer 2020 (various films on Japan, Maria Callas, mystical gardens or Yann Artus-Bertrand’s Legacy were projected there at 360°).
atInstitut du monde arabe ( Some start-ups offer their know-how in 3D modeling and virtual reality, such as the Montreal studio (Félix&Paul To discover other Canadian creative studios, see the cartography launched by the cultural services ofFrench Embassy in Canada and Xn Québec) or Cités Millénaires) or the Musée de la Romanité de Nîmes ( Bâtir un empire). to the creation of high-quality immersive exhibitions
or he Enemy atInstitut du monde arabe, and Pompeii at the Grand Palais. On the video game side, Ubisoft regularly supports players in the audiovisual and museum sectors in their exhibition projects. Based on images from the Far Cry Primal video game, Ubisoft, France TV, Lucid Realities and Little Big Stories have created an immersive experience that lets you step into the shoes of a Paleolithic woman: Lady Sapiens .
Faced with the richness of this ecosystem and the abundance of such projects, collaboration models are asserting themselves and diversifying. Encouraged by the creation of dedicated funds by the CNC, and by investments made by public and private players, museums are increasingly welcoming and contributing to the production of these exhibitions, providing both scientific and expographic expertise. They can also invest financially in these productions by sharing ticket sales with their partners, promoting the touring of these exhibitions or seeking sponsors.
As hosts, (co)producers and even (co)financiers of immersive experiences and exhibitions, some museums seem to want to make their mark in this field, with dedicated permanent or temporary programming, and a willingness to devote part of their museum spaces to it. In the face of this craze, many questions remain unanswered: To what extent can these alliances between heritage and audiovisual media be balanced to develop sustainable, virtuous models? How can these exhibitions be better linked to the museum’s physical collections? Can these exhibitions contribute to developing, diversifying and enriching public relations?
