DOUBLE 3 AT THE MUSEUM: WHEN ART AND TECHNOLOGY GO TOGETHER

July 2nd, 2020 – “IL GIORNO”

During the period of Covid-19, many Art institutions around the world were forced to reinvent their offer, both in terms of content and access methods. They have launched online viewing paths, virtual tours, podcasts, art classes, etc. Some pushed themselves to explore new ways and new worlds in the field of remote accessibility.

But experimentation in museums is nothing new. For 30 years, museums have been places of experimentation with hybrid forms to make the sharing of art possible through additional experiences, but not as substitutes for the standard ones.

The opportunity of the Robotic Telepresence in museums not only opens to the possibility of making a remote visit real but also creates efficient alternatives for the management and the organization of the processes of the museum as an institution.
For example, at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome, where Double 3 is being tested, it was possible to use the Robotic Telepresence during an exchange with the Marmottan Museum in Paris. Paul Cezane’s “Le Cabanon du Jourdan” went to France and “Le ponte japonais” came to Italy. The robot Double 3 allowed the French curator, who was supposed to travel with the painting, to connect with the museum remotely and experience all the reception procedures of the work of art in the new location.

As explained by Dr. Collu, the director of the Gallery: “Relations between cultural institutions cannot be replaced by a robot, but neither can they be interrupted in a complicated period such as the post lockdown. If the curator cannot travel with the painting, the Telepresence allows him/her to rely on colleagues at the museum of arrival to monitor the safety conditions of the installation.

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