Experiencing Pervasive Computer Mediated Art Exhibitions

Authors

• Vuokko Härmä University of Sussex

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30676/jfas.127502

Abstract

Cultural institutions such as museums and galleries are going through a transformation driven by an increasingly competitive funding environment and a sense that they need to reconnect with their contemporary visitors. Audience-led design has been seen as one of the main ways to attract visitors to museums for some time (McLean 1993). Active participation during visits to cultural institutions has been reported to generate positive feedback from visitors (Bagnall  2007), and so contemporary museums and galleries have become increasingly concerned with promoting public engagement through offering interactive installations (Hein 2000). Museum staff, exhibition designers and curators are under pressure to create attractive exhibitions that encourage participation and evoke emotional and behavioral responses. Thus the manufacturing of experiences has become a key issue in the design process, with digital technologies  playing an increasing role in rendering artworks accessible. Drawing on research carried out in the UK, this paper considers the relationship between technologically mediated artworks and social interaction in museums and galleries, and suggests some further questions about possible cross-cultural variation in this relationship, specifically with respect to Finnish conventions of social interaction.