When the pandemic arrived, the world changed very quickly. Not only was fear of COVID-19 abundant, but it came with anti-Asian racism and xenophobia. One museum in Los Angeles had trouble with their series of exhibits by female artists of Asian Pacific heritage, and between anti-Asian sentiment and COVID-19, the exhibit only stayed open for three days. Museums had to find a way to share their exhibits with people during a pandemic, and they used their creativity to come up with solutions. The result has changed the way art is shared in ways that will endure beyond the pandemic.
Virtual Museum Tours
Virtual museum exhibitions existed before the pandemic, but it wasn’t a priority. The common viewpoint was that part of the experience of viewing art is to see it in person. However, with the lack of access during the pandemic, the museums had to be creative and find a way to share these works with the public. They were able to use innovative software, such as Matterport, to use 3D technology and make immersive replicas of actual physical spaces.
This type of software gives people the opportunity to experience what it is like to walk through the gallery, as they can stop, view art, listen to audio, and watch videos. As a result, the website traffic at museums grew significantly, and people came from all over the world. They expanded their works to a much larger audience, and the works became more accessible to all.
Replacing In-Person Programs
Another feature to the virtual museum experience is the replacement of in-person programs. Before, they had between 30 and 40 people attending these programs, but once they moved discussions of topics such as refugee narratives or women’s issues online, they had more than 800 people from all over the world join them.
This was evidence that the interest in these topics is there, and the access to it is what needs to be opened up. The USC Pacific Asia Museum made a decision to take a bold position of not being neutral to encourage important dialogue about difficult topics that are impacting everyday life. They were able to keep communities connected and expand them to include people from all over the world, and this trend will continue.