Exhibiting in VR
Gretchen Andrew x The National Gallery
Investigating the legal, technical, and curatorial frameworks for virtual reality exhibitions
Considerations
Before embarking on the journey of creating a VR exhibition, there are some general aspects that need to be taken into account during the first phases of the project.
Curatorial
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Legal
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Artistic
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Technical
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Learnings
After creating a VR exhibition in different platforms and using their unique technology, we found some shared elements that apply to all VR shows. We unified them into the following do's, dont's, average time of the hanging process, and main joys of building an exhibition in VR.
✅ Devote the resources it deserves (people, time, etc.)
🙅♀️ Poorly plan and not thinking outside the box
⏰ 3 hours
Misuses
The reasons to require curatorial approval of exhibitions after implementation are numerous. There are, also, instistances where such creative hangings and “misuses” might have curatorial benefit and therefore should not be automatically forbidden.
It would be impossible to ever place a Van Gogh on the floor or to change its size or to hang 100 of the same artworks together. It is, however, not impossible to imagine a curatorial reason for such digitally-enabled explorations. The approval of such uses therefore falls to the curator.
A unique artwork can be duplicated in a wall by hanging the artwork again, even if it has only been added to the system once.
It is possible to not hang artworks to a wall but instead keep them floating on the space, making the artwork visible from the front and the back.
Just as artworks can be hung on a vertical surface such a wall or column, they can also be placed on a horizontal plane like the floor.
Next steps
If you are an institution considering expanding your exhibitions to the VR realm but you don't know where to start, be sure to download the full report on exhibiting in VR. By sharing your email address, we can start a consultation dialogue to help you get the best results.
Concept
Legal Evaluation
Gretchen Andrew
Gretchen Andrew, The National Gallery, Field Fisher, Vastari
VR Evaluation
Gretchen Andrew