Exhibitions and immersive experiences
EXHIBITIONS AND IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES
4 key trends to watch
From Oasis Immersion at Palais des Congrès in Montréal to Illumi in Laval, several innovative digital and immersive experiences have captured the public’s imagination in recent years.
Halfway between cultural entertainment and artistic attraction, these works make use of video-mapping, digital design, and virtual reality.
Qu’est-ce que l’avenir réserve à ce nouveau genre d’expositions et What does the future hold for this new kind of exhibition and experience? Xn Québec and the Habo studio have tackled the issue.
Following a survey of more than 85 companies working in the field of digital creativity and interviews with 45 industry experts, it was possible to identify four main trends concerning immersive exhibitions and experiences.
The growth of virtual and mixed reality experiences
Smartphones, through apps such as Pokémon Go! or gadgets such as Google Cardboard, have greatly contributed to democratizing augmented reality and virtual reality to a wider audience. As a result, the demand for more sophisticated experiences is starting to be felt. At the same time, professional AR or VR devices are becoming more and more powerful and offer new functionalities such as motion- and movement-tracking.
Such innovations make possible in situ installations such asL’infini, designed by Félix & Paul Studios and the Phi Centre. It combines VR and interaction in a physical location to allow visitors to walk inside a virtual reproduction of the International Space Station.
The popularity of this type of experience is dictated in part by its critical reception and the word-of-mouth generated by the first creations designed for the general public. As the saying goes, “you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.”
Increasingly intensive market competition
It’s not only the public that’s becoming increasingly fond of digital experiences. More and more artists, some from more traditional disciplines such as visual and performing arts, are venturing into this field.
While the number of broadcasting spaces is also growing, the emergence of new digital-experience producers suggests that competition in the market will get stronger, even fiercer.
To stand out, productions will have to differentiate themselves, for example, by using well-known intellectual properties or offering innovative technologies that deliver even more impressive and accessible experiences.
Diversification of delivery spaces for immersive experiences
More and more entertainment venues, such as hotels, casinos, and even aquariums as well as transit facilities, are turning to immersive experiences to wow their visitors. Specifically, they rely on these facilities to generate additional revenue by enhancing the value of the experience they provide to their existing customers or even to attract new customers. These places are always looking to gauge and justify the efforts devoted to these facilities to ensure an appropriate return on investment.
These new exhibition spaces are in addition to the museums and exhibition centres that are also banking on more modern facilities to rejuvenate their image and win over new visitors.
Even shopping malls are now interested in immersive experiences, as a way of filling vacant spaces and boosting the number of visitors. And let’s not forget other commercial premises, such as lofts or unoccupied warehouses that can be used as “black boxes” for exhibitions.
There is every reason to believe that more and more unusual broadcasters will turn to immersive experiences in the future. In doing so, companies producing travelling or semi-permanent exhibitions have more opportunities to extend their works’ life cycle, thereby generating more revenue.
The decline of certain immersive experience formats
Pop-up experiences such as Refinery29’s 29 Rooms or even The Museum of Ice Cream have lost momentum. These experiences made a dazzling start thanks to their novelty, but their appeal seems to be on the wane.
It’s worth noting that these exhibitions have sometimes been criticized for their superficiality in the media. See, for example, an article in Forbes by Alexandra Wilson and Maggie McGrath entitled I Scream. You Scream. The Meltdown at the Museum of Ice Cream.
Will this be the fate, too, of currently popular large-scale art-projection exhibitions such as Imagine Van Gogh, Immersive Van Gogh or Van Gogh, the Immersive Experience? No, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you – there really are several distinct immersive exhibitions based on Van Gogh’s paintings touring the world at the moment. It’s enough to exhaust the public and cause confusion for the CBC’s Leah Collins!
Van Gogh, the Immersive Experience? Et oui, vous avez bien lu, plusieurs expositions immersives différentes basées sur des peintures de Van Gogh font le tour du monde en ce moment. Il y a de quoi épuiser le public et provoquer la confusion de Leah Collins de CBC!
One thing is certain, these exhibitions and immersive experiences’ wow factor will remain a major selling point. What’s more, the sharing of photos and videos on Instagram and TikTok will also remain key in promoting this type of facility to new audiences.