Also, the report on the “Impact of the COVID-19 Situation on Museums in Europe” by the Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO – Network of European Museums Organisation, 2020) calls for more investment in digital heritage, including both digital services and engaging digital experiences, recognising that they “bring people together, encourage creativity…and offer a virtual space to build ideas collectively” (p. The report on “Museums, Museum Professionals and COVID-19” by the International Council of Museums (ICOM – International Council of Museums, 2020) confirms that museums’ digital services increased after the lockdown, almost by 50% for social media and in the range between 10% and 19% for online collections and exhibitions, podcasts, quiz contests, newsletters, and live events (p. Many institutions, in most cases those with sufficient resources, also developed new atypical projects during the lockdown, including educational challenges and behind the scenes. UNESCO’s report on “Museums Around the World in the Face of COVID-19” (UNESCO, 2020), for example, emphasises that the pandemic allowed many institutions to utilise previous digitisation investments, including 360° tours, virtual museums, and digital exhibitions, while increasing their outreach on social media platforms (pp. Recent reports have highlighted that providing digital content in different forms is considered one of the most effective means of keeping audiences engaged. The COVID-19 pandemic and the necessary physical and consequent social isolation made clear the increasing need for more (but also better) digital content.
#LOST VIA DOMUS 3D MODELS SERIES#
This exploration allowed us to conclude that even though some aspects of aura and authenticity are intrinsically related to the physicality and materiality of the original, 3D models can still manifest aura and authenticity, as long as a series of parameters, including multimodal contextualisation, interactivity, and affective experiences are facilitated. Building on several studies that have problematised these two concepts, this article establishes an exploratory framework aimed at evaluating the experience of aura and authenticity in 3D digitisations. This article explores three-dimensional digitisations of museum artefacts, particularly problematising their aura and authenticity in comparison to their physical counterparts. Although 3D models and collections provide novel ways to interact, visualise, and comprehend the materiality and sensoriality of physical objects, their mediation in digital forms misses essential elements that contribute to (virtual) visitor/user experience.
Virtual tours, revamped websites, and 3D models of cultural artefacts were only a few of the means that museums devised to create alternative ways of digital engagement and counteract the physical and social distancing measures. This became more pressing during the COVID-19 pandemic since heritage institutions had, on the one hand, to temporarily close their doors to visitors while, on the other, find ways to communicate their collections to the public.
Museums have been increasingly investing in their digital presence.