From 12 until 19 January the Pop-Up Museum will be open to the public at Sound & Vision. The Pop-Up Museum is a physical installation with three monitors in an interactive setting. With your smartphone you can control the exhibition and interact with the content. The multi-screen software called MUPOP has been developed by Noterik, and the concept is an outcome of the Europeana Space project.
WHY BUILD A POP-UP MUSEUM?
In the past years a lot of cultural material has been digitised: millions of photographs, film and sound from the archive are available online on several public platforms [1]. In the 3-year Europeana Space project several pilots - including interactive TV, photography, games, dance, hybrid publishing and museums - have researched new ways of making available digital cultural heritage.
Many of these activities have resulted in online exhibitions, and a lot of material has been picked up by the Wikipedia community, increading online access. However, we feel that there is a case to be made for making digital content available in a curated space, to create a cultural experience for the user without the distractions of e-mail or push notifications. Additionally, time based media such as video and audio videos, that require the viewer to take some time to view, can be specifically programmed to make sure the viewer can view it in its own right.
Pop-Up Museum installation. © Staalslagerij
HOW IS IT MADE?
The software that can be viewed on the screens and smartphones is developed by Noterik BV. Several interactive applications using cultural heritage have been built and tested within the aforementioned pilots and during the Multiscreen Hackathon in Amsterdam. Noterik uses HTML5 software to produce different interaction and playout possibilities between screens. There is also a special editor being developed to control and set up the exhibition, its content and interactions. The software developed by Noterik for this concept goes by the name of MUPOP.
The physical installation, which is shown on the image above, was built by design studio Staalslagerij based in Rotterdam. It’s about 8 meters wide and 2 meters high, and it can be set up in a modular way.
To test the Pop-Up Museum with a public audience it has been taken in to regular programming activities at the Sound & Vision museum in Hilversum. Currently they are running an exhibition on YouTube with the temporary theme Beauty + Fashion. Thanks to the editorial efforts of Evelien Wolda, Kelly Mostert and Marta Franceschini (of Europeana Fashion) amazing content has been found fitting within the Fashion theme. It shows current and historical fashion and considers the ‘vintage’ hype, looking at styles and customs from previous eras and designers. Together with the help of the museum department at the Institute the pop-up installation has been programmed from the 12th until the 19th of January.
WHAT CAN YOU SEE?
Every screen shows a different mini-exhibition and starts with instructions on how to start the screen with your smartphone. Headphones can be used and are available at the installation. When you press ‘start’ you hear a voice-over introducing you to what you’re about to see next.
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Screen #3: Timeless Icons This screen shows 6 famous fashion icons in a cover flow interface. You move through the images by using your smartphone as a touch pad. When selecting one of the icons, the image is shown full screen and the voice-over will tell you what you are seeing. Using your touch pad you can swipe left to see which famous icon the story is centered around. |
WHERE CAN I SEE THE POP-UP MUSEUM?
The following days the Pop-Up Museum can be seen at the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision:
Thursday 12 January
Friday 13 January
Saturday 14 January
Tuesday 17 January
Wednesday 18 January
Thursday 19 January
The Pop-Up Museum is open to the public and you do not need to purchase an entrance ticket to see it.
After the Europeana Space project ends we hope to show the Pop-Up Museum in different places. If you are interested in using this concept, please visit www.mupop.net for more information.