Let’s get digital
Closed museums, postponed exhibitions, artists in isolation. During the corona crisis, Düsseldorf's art businesses upgraded digitally and took art online – and vice versa. Moving towards the future.
With just one click you can step into a museum. View art historical masterpieces from the comfort of your own sofa on a virtual tour. The corona pandemic has accelerated the development of digital formats in almost all cultural institutions. Museums are experimenting with digital collections, immersive experiences and virtual backgrounds. And they are using digital tools to guide visitors optimally on site.
“Our focus is still on exhibitions in analogue space, but we are in the process of expanding these spaces more and more into the digital realm.”
The Düsseldorf Kunstpalast was one of the first museums in Germany to be listed on Google Arts & Culture, a platform on which over 2,000 museums worldwide present their works online, even before the corona crisis. Digitalisation also plays an increasing role in the artistic works themselves. The NRW Forum, headed by Alain Bieber, collaborates particularly extensively with digital art forms. The experimental digital pioneer among Düsseldorf’s curators shows VR works through virtual reality glasses, room-sized AR works and video art as online screening or video projection. “Our focus is still on exhibitions in analogue space, but we are in the process of expanding these spaces more and more into the digital realm,” explains the managing director and artistic director. For the future, Bieber intends to increasingly focus on hybrid event formats consisting of local on-site events and worldwide live streaming. He and his team also like to experiment in terms of delivery: from live workshops via video conferencing to artist talks on Instagram and online art on their own website. Of particular note is that NRW Forum has just launched its own platform, www.nextmuseum.io, where artists, curators and interested parties can work together to design a museum of the future. Bieber himself curates upcoming exhibition projects such as ‘Willkommen im Paradies’ (‘Welcome to Paradise’), for which almost 400 suggestions have been collected. “With this platform, we are also researching new technological possibilities in the exhibition business, e.g. an AI curator or digital exhibition signs,” explains Bieber, and is also presenting the next innovative project already: a cultural laboratory for artificial intelligence. In autumn 2021, contemporary artists will create new augmented reality art works for Düsseldorf as part of the world’s first digital sculpture biennale.
The NRW Forum engages intensively with digital art, AI and new technologies. In “One of them is a Human”, the Finnish artist Majia Tammi photographed three robots and one human. It’s part of the exhibition “Cute”.
The more traditional Kunstsammlung NRW with its museums K20 and K21 also observes the increasing interweaving of artistic production and the latest technical and experimental possibilities. “Artists such as Hito Steyerl and Simon Denny, whose exhibitions will be on display at K21 from September 2020, use digital media for art production and as well as for audience involvement,” explains Anne Fischer, Head of Marketing and Digital at the Kunstsammlung NRW. Simon Denny, for example, has transferred his exhibition - parallel to the real museum space - to the gaming platform ‘Minecraft’. Hito Steyerl’s works are partly based on augmented reality components, which expand the exhibition visit aesthetically and in terms of content via iPad or mobile phone. Preparation and follow-up of the museum visit is also increasingly taking place on digital channels. Both, demand and expectations for online content are rising. The Kunstsammlung responds to this with expanded online formats such as exhibition tours or artist talks. “We are increasingly striving to produce more complex formats that give users deeper insights into the content,” says Fischer. These include moving image series for Instagram as well as podcast series. The presentation of the collection online and app-based visitor guidance on site will be upgraded to the latest standard of technology.
“we are inspired by the straightforward processes of streaming services”
“Art Düsseldorf”: In the future, this new art fair will present its program and exhibited works on an especially developed digital platform.
Galleries and art fairs are also conquering digital space. Art Düsseldorf has created its own platform to redefine the presentation of art and the sales process in the digital world. “Here we are rather more inspired by the straightforward processes of streaming services than by the digital showrooms or 3D solutions that have existed up to now,” explains managing director Walter Gehlen. His prognosis: Digital platforms will open up showrooms and, in reverse, fairs and galleries will increasingly expand their content online. In addition, the share of digitally sold art will continue to rise. During the lockdown, several digital initiatives helped artists in need, such as the Instagram livestream exhibition Empty Space by the Düsseldorf creative community Weird Space. The collective auctioned over 140 artworks and divided all proceeds equally among artists. Donations and visibility for the art were also raised by the Rosy DX digital studio. On the especially created online platform ‘Art Will Save Us’, the collective organised 23 performances in April with contemporary artists from all over the world. One of the founders of Rosy DX: Alain Bieber. •
artwillsaveus.club
www.nextmuseum.io
www.nrw-forum.de
www.art-dus.de
www.kunstsammlung.de
artsandculture.google.com
What’s next Alain Bieber?
Three questions for the artistic director of NRW-Forum Düsseldorf
How will the experience of recent months and the digital development shift the way art is viewed?
I think that many people have noticed that enjoyment of art also works well outside traditional, analogue cultural institutions. That also helps the online art scene, for example. And, of course, the digital changes are not only shifting reception, but also art itself. After all, art often addresses precisely this digital development. This disruption was also a real shock - but I am convinced that this will lead to great new works of art again.
How often do visitors use the digital offerings?
Our digital formats were all immediately fully booked during lockdown. Once again, we were able to reach completely new target groups. But of course, you also notice that the digital competition and the expectations of the visitors have increased. They are looking for really good quality formats. Museums are suddenly competing with players like Netflix, YouTube and TikTok.
What does the Museum of the Future look like?
Transparent, diverse, open, tailor-made, international, experimental, surprising, inspiring, entertaining, digital, educational, barrier-free, courageous - just the way good museums look like today. And of course, the latest digital technologies will play an even greater role, such as algorithms in visitor research or machine learning in the preparation of digital collections. •
Words: Karolina Landowski
Pictures: PR