When discussing the future of the arts, many professionals and studies have stated that the manner in which audiences consume arts and culture is rapidly changing--and has already changed.  The Internet has been the most notable new space for consuming culture, providing both opportunities and challenges through widespread and instant information sharing. Over the past several years, AMT Lab has documented the various web-based arts experiences that are becoming readily available--usually including lessons and best practices that managers can take away for their own practice.  This week’s TBT rounds them up into a user-friendly toolbox of online arts experiences of various artistic mediums.

Is there a digital arts experience you love that we didn’t cover?  Comment below and we may write about it in the future!

Visual

Curiator: An App to Advance the Online Art World by Yunfan Zhu

Curiator is a digital gallery of visual works. Likened to Pinterest, it utilizes a dynamic grid and the ability to drag and drop images uploaded by other users to personal folders. Once individuals select a certain number of works, the platforms begins to recommend other artworks based on the user’s taste.

A Digital Art Collection: LACMA and the Rijkmuseum by Rachael Wilkinson

This article discusses the opening of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)’s collections website, featuring 20,000 high resolution, downloadable images of works from their permanent collection. This article brings up the interesting ability digital collections give viewers to give in to their compulsion to “collect” the art on the walls of the museum--and the fact that viewers at the physical space can now put down their smartphones since they no longer need to do this with their own cameras.

The Google Art Project and Art.Sy: Exploration Engines for Art by Naina Singh

This article introduces two different but equally global digital galleries: Google Art Project, which features the work of several of the world’s museums, and Art.sy, an inventory of emerging artists. (For more information on Google’s web-based arts experiences, check out our TBT on Google)

The Website Exhibition: Old and New by Naina Singh

What are the elements of a good digital collection?  How does one properly showcase what makes works magical through a computer screen?  This article highlights a digital version of the Monet exhibition at the Grand Palais and the experimental website Art Micropatronage as two examples of sites that take different approaches to do this beautifully and successfully.  While the second website is no longer active, the first is still a beautiful testament to the artist’s work.

How To Do an Online Exhibition: Part 1, Part 2, and the corresponding white paper by Graciela Kahn

This series is a resource for arts managers who seek to create their own digital arts experience. Exploring the tradeoffs between developing online exhibitions with pre-made and custom built applications, any organization considering creating an online exhibition or research tool should consider using this reference.

Performance

Opera National de Paris is Set to Bring New Works Onto a Digital Stage by Nora Fleury

This article gives readers some insight into an upcoming platform from the Opera National de Paris, “3eme Scene”, which translates to “3rd Stage”.  Opening on September 15, 2015, 3eme Scene will be a totally digital space offering creative works of filmmakers, choreographers, visual artists, directors and writers, as well as a set of archives.

Creating Online Audiences For Orchestras: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and the corresponding white paper by Bianca Oertel

This series explores the online audience for orchestras, exploring various aspects of what that means--from looking at various ways that audiences are able to engage online, to case studies of how different orchestras are choosing to use the online space to engage, to investigating challenges involved with creating this type of cultural consumption. This series is a valuable read for any arts organization seeking to create a digital environment for their audiences, not just orchestras.

Behind the Scenes: The Virtual Orchestra Project by Theo George

This article is an interview with emmy-nominated, Canadian composer Glen Rhodes, the individual behind 2011’s Virtual Orchestra Project. While the project does not seem to have continued beyond 2011, Rhodes provides interesting insight into the experience of piecing together a collaborative, web-based art work.

Eric Whitacre Dreams of His Virtual Choir Machine by Amelia Northrup

This article talks about Eric Whitacre and his series of virtual choirs. While the article speaks largely to the author’s grappling with the digital arts experience versus the in-person one, searching Whitacre’s projects yields some interesting results.  His YouTube channel hosts virtual choir performances as well as personal introductions from Whitacre. He has also spoken more about this experience (and created it) in a TED talk.

BMW Tate Live: An Online Space for Performance Art by Naina Singh

This article introduces BMW Tate, a project now in its fourth year, where performances are put on exclusively for live, online audiences.  Audiences can share their comments via social media in real time in order to create a conversation between the curators/artists and audience. (this type of conversation may be the answer to the questions of the future of arts posed by last week’s podcast and article discussing the creation a productive arts conversation)

Last.fm: Translating Digital Audiences into Live Audiences by Crystal Wallis

How to connect the digital arts experience with the in-person one? Last.fm is one that is doing just that in an innovative way.  This article talks about how the app can show which artists that are listened to are “on tour”--and this can happen even with long-gone composers like Beethoven or Mozart if there is a touring orchestra featuring their works. This could possibly encourage in-person attendance after engaging online.