When bv02 goes to a conference, we don’t just “go to a conference.” It’s far too analog for our taste. We like to bring an interesting digital experience or two, and the Canadian Museum Association’s 65th Annual conference at the Hilton Lac Leamy was no exception. That’s where we debuted MasterPieces, our collaborative digital canvas.
What is MasterPieces, you ask? It’s a collaborative digital art project, and here’s how it works. There’s a image displayed on a large format screen; in this case, we chose a well-known art piece. In front of the screen, there’s an iPad that lets you recreate a square of the art. Think Draw Something, meets Pictionary, in an art gallery. Once you’ve finished recreating the piece based on your interpretation, that square of the painting is replaced by your interpretation of the work.
However, the true beauty of MasterPieces is found beyond simply its use as an application. Its value is in what it can do within the context of cultural institutions. We’ve worked with several prominent institutions and spoken to many others at conferences, and there are a few major challenges that always come up in conversation. How can institutions increase engagement with their collections during a visit, and how can they prolong that engagement after the visitor has left the physical exhibit? MasterPieces answers both of these questions, which are on the minds of nearly everyone we spoke with at the Canadian Museum Association.
MasterPieces promotes engagement in culture via active participation. When people are creating art in the MasterPieces application, they’re engaged. They have a stake in the final product. That applies to recreating pictures of artifacts, zebras, buildings and statues just as much as it does to well-known paintings. MasterPieces’ large format screen lets you see how each individual interpreted the work in their own way, and how all of those interpretations combined to make something beautiful. This creates a much higher level of engagement while participants are at the exhibit.
We also wanted to ensure that engagement carried past the physical interaction, so with that in mind, MasterPieces prompts users to tweet about their contribution once they’ve finished. It serves as a public statement of their connection to the cultural piece they’ve chosen to engage with, and a reminder to them of their experience with the work.
Considering all of this, it’s clear that the MasterPieces project has grown into much more than just a interesting experiment. By combining the programming chops of our developers, the design skills of our creative team and a pinch of copywriting from our eMarketers, we created a piece that promotes engagement in culture via active participation. At bv02, we’ve worked with cultural institutions for many years, and one of our favourite things is helping create digital culture experiences that go beyond the traditional walls and displays of museums and galleries. These experiences connect people to ideas, and we believe it’s the future of cultural engagement.
For examples of how interactive technology is influencing other fields, check out the work Teknision (a bv02 friend and client) is doing in creating engaging user interfaces, or a comical and ingenious way to engage users in a memorable Youtube video for Skittles.
The bottom line is that when you get people involved, engagement is much higher. MasterPieces provides a visually appealing, cost effective way for cultural institutions to do just that.
Watch how people engaged with MasterPieces at the 65th CMA conference.