Visual Arts Goes Virtual: A look inside the creation of the 360 tours
During the pandemic, we have seen the temporary closure of museums, galleries, and exhibition spaces. For these entities, the work to keep audiences engaged could be said to be relatively easy as they work with highly visual pieces that can be shared online. But as an avid museum, gallery, and exhibition attendee, I know there is more to the experience of art than just flipping through pictures on a website. There is something visceral about being able to walk a space, to take it all in. To experience the interaction of light, the textures, how large the artwork is, how it looks from different angles – this all matters and changes your perception of the art. I can say with true certainty that I live for this experience to the extent that I have had a song playing in my head every time I have gone to a new museum or gallery. It is a ritual.
In our current world, what can these cultural organization do to bring back those immersive experiences? Well, the answer is not simple, but it starts with adopting modern technologies, even if those have been created for a completely different purpose. Artists have already conquered the “virtual boardroom” that is Zoom and utilized it to present festivals, shows, theatre, and more. Now, thanks to the work of my colleague Sanja Lukac, Visual and Media Arts Associate at Arts Commons, I get to learn how technology intended to be used by construction companies, architects, and engineers, can be used to bring the arts to life.
Creating Virtual Spaces
As many of you know, the Arts Commons building has been closed to the public since March of 2020. A building that in a regular season saw 600,000 people coming through its doors has been frequented by a tiny fraction of that since the pandemic started. During this time, not only the performance spaces have been dark, but also the 6 exhibition spaces that are normally accessible to the public showcasing emerging artists in the province and in Canada. This did not stop Sanja from thinking outside the –literal- walls of our building.
“In March, April, and May, I was looking through all of these virtual museums like the Dali Museum in Figueres and I was taken by the technology. It was really exciting because even if I'd been to some of the museums, I actually learned more about the things I saw, because in person you're overwhelmed, and maybe you're waiting in line to see something from afar, but this was ALL ACCESS,” says Sanja. “You can really dive into it, and some of the biggest art institutions were using it and that just sparked something in me”
Flash back to 2019 when Sanja was working with artist Jonathan Kawchuk for the Arts Commons soundscape. Jonathan and his friend Sarah Toogood were mapping the soundscape and using capturing technology get a layout of the spaces and figure out the range for his sound art piece. Sarah works for Switch Engineering, a boutique Engineering firm in Edmonton and has access to 360-degree cameras and equipment to do mapping and scanning of spaces. At the time, the scans were done just as a practical resource to install Kawchuk’s piece.
Fast forward back to 2020, after Sanja was inspired to explore the possibilities of virtual galleries, she searched for a company who could make it happen. She immediately got the feedback that the work she wanted to do was expensive, and that no one had really used that technology for what she was wanting to do. She then remembered working with Sarah and had the idea to engage her and the company she works for to do the scans. Sanja was excited to work with Sarah because she understood the spaces already and the company had been wanting to work with a gallery. Everything came together and scanning of the spaces was scheduled. When the work started, Sanja and the Facilities team at Arts Commons had a lot of work head of them to prep the galleries.
“We had to de-install everything over the summer because the facilities team was renovating each of the galleries. They painted everything and they installed new lighting,” says Sanja. “We had to de-install the work, and then coordinate with the artist to either install the original work, or [find out] if they wanted to include new work or updated work in the in the gallery.”
Sanja really wanted to give artists the opportunity to rethink their work for a post-pandemic world and gave them the flexibility to submit new or revised pieces if they wanted to. “It was a really great catalyst for expanding the artist’s vision,” she recalls. “I wanted to know if there was work that was vital to their practice now, rather than last March. Something that was vital for December 2020.”
For Sanja bringing this project to life was a moment of true collaboration as she worked with all departments to make this happen. Sanja and members of the Security, Facilities, Marketing and Production teams were going from space to space ahead of the scanning and waking up the building again by switching on breakers that were shut down to keep the building operating at a minimum capacity. They even went the extra step to clear all of the spaces of posters and signs that were frozen in time after all the cancellations that happened in March. They had to reset everything. For the first time since March, the building like looked alive again.
“The power was on; the lights were on, and it was just really amazing to see it alive again for the first time in so long. It was bittersweet because I wanted to share it with everybody,” says Sanja.
The work was completed in the late fall and now it is available for audiences to experience. Sanja is excited to share the new virtual galleries to the world.
“It just provides you with so much more accessibility. Not only for audiences, but artists can connect the other arts centers, and in turn those centres can connect to us. Different galleries and curators can check out our spaces, and that really opens up our possibilities.”
The Virtual Galleries in use
On a given day pre-pandemic, you could find students coming in and out of our building thanks to the several Education programs that are run in our facility. I would often see students sitting along the hallways in the +15 walkways observing the art in our galleries. Guided by our Education team, the students for the ConocoPhillips Hub for Inspired Learning Campus Calgary Program are often in the building and they interact with the spaces in diverse ways. A big part of the students experience with program involves journaling. The galleries in the building are often used so the students can experience a piece of art and then write about it.
With the building being closed, the pedagogy sessions for Campus Calgary teachers have been moved online, making it exceedingly difficult for those running the program to do their usual tours of Arts Commons. When education coordinator Jen Roberts first heard about our virtual galleries; she was inspired to utilize them once again in her curriculum. She created a Zoom meeting for the teachers and proceeded to invite them all to join the galleries virtually. They “walked” the spaces and then they journaled together about the experience - just like they would have done in an in-person meeting. Jen is looking forward to continuing her work with kids as well as teachers next year and allowing them to continue experiencing the building in these new ways.
Walk this way
As the galleries are unveiled, Sanja is excited for the artists to have an audience again and to be able to safely share their work with others. For her, the most important thing is that the spaces are accessible and anyone with an internet connection can enjoy the excellent work displayed currently, and they can do so in a safe manner. You can visit the galleries here!
“This virtual space allows us to increase access and work towards the democratization of art by providing accesses to everyday art experiences to much wider audiences, many who may have never had an opportunity or ability to discover the building,” says Sanja Lukac. “We are also providing an audience again for our artists and a unique art experience to the public after 8 months of closures.”
As I reflect on what it means to me to have had the privilege to look at art everywhere I go in the building, often with Seu Jorge’s David Bowie covers stuck in my head, I invite the public to experience our galleries and ‘walk' our building once more. Soak in some art and think of your favorite song as you experience it, because in the last 9 months we have rarely had the chance to fully be submerged in an experience like this. To help you, I asked our current roster of RBC Emerging Artists to submit their favorite songs or any song they think pairs well with their pieces. You can find the ongoing collaborative playlist below.
What is the song that plays in your mind when you are walking in your favorite museum? Let us know in the comments below or by tagging us on your posts on social media.
Also, virtually visit the galleries now and see what’s on display!
