Utility and Usership in Virtual Museums of Contemporary Art

This research proposal aims to address Utility (i.e., social function) and Usership in Virtual Museums of Contemporary Art [ViMCA].

Its objectives are to establish a ground-breaking analysis and conceptual framework for ViMCA, and to determine correlated modes of implementation designed to sustain social justice through cultural innovation.

In its initial out-going phase at Concordia University’s Milieux Institute for research-creation, this action will determine ViMCA’s social efficacy through an interdisciplinary methodology investigating different curatorial approaches, theories of contemporary art reception (emerging from neuroaesthetics, philosophy and art theory), as well as socially-engaged artistic practices, and cross-referencing them with the novel affordances provided by XR–Extended Reality technologies.

In the subsequent in-coming phase of this action at ICS-FORTH’s Human Computer Lab, research will focus on usership and design in order to establish consistent modes of implementation.

This next research phase will initially devise a bespoke mode of user-generated content creation for ViMCA, derived and adapted from co-productive models of public participation found in socially engaged art, new media and museums 3.0.

Second, it will establish a dynamic, personalized user interface model adapted to contemporary art contexts that will critically engage users while challenging innate confirmation bias.

The results of this overall research will constitute a roadmap for future digital applications designed to support and enhance the role of contemporary art institutions in fostering democracy and social justice in today’s post-truth era.

In order to demonstrate the practical viability of these research results, work on this action will ultimately yield the design specifications for an innovative ViMCA prototype application, developed during the fellowship’s final secondment phase at the academia-to-industry spinoff startup ORamaVR.