In March of 2021, the Hong Kong Museum of Art launched a special exhibition: “Art for Everyone” features 100 pieces of art on display throughout Hong Kong, 10 of which are AR-enabled.
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Local users can download the museum’s AR app and discover the installations all across Hong Kong. This approach enables Hong Kongers to experience art all over the city while introducing more variety into their daily routines. The pieces shown include Chinese antiquities, Chinese painting and calligraphy, China trade art as well as works of modern and Hong Kong art. The iconic art pieces are integrated via AR into typical Hong Kong day-to-day activities, such as taking the subway. The immersive art exhibition ends 23 May 2021, so don’t miss your chance to download the app and explore art in a truly innovative way. The concept of “Art for Everyone” neatly demonstrates the power of AR to help overcome a number of barriers:
During the Covid-19 pandemic it is generally advisable to avoid crowded indoor areas. This has impacted the art sector significantly: All around the world, museums and art galleries have been closed; concerts, plays and performances cancelled. This has introduced significant challenges to the industry and many organisations are struggling to make ends meet. AR can be an effective way to overcome such physical barriers. In a similar way, tradeshows could also leverage AR to showcase their products to customers and buyers who are currently unable to visit them in person.
Being on top of consumers’ minds is another important consideration. During the pandemic, habits have shifted and things may never get back to normal. To the Hong Kong Museum of Art, it is important to stay top-of-mind and to remind Hong Kongers that visiting a museum is a great leisure activity. Leveraging AR to make art accessible to the masses is an innovative and effective way to raise awareness. This will potentially contribute to visitors returning to the museum once pandemic-related restrictions are lifted, or people feel that it is safe to gather in large indoor venues.
Going beyond simply replacing traditional offline experiences, AR can actually further enhance them. AR makes it a lot easier to display additional information that can add user value. Integrating art pieces into shopping malls and other public places is really just the first step. In addition to that, background information on the pieces displayed can be shown, and users could even be allowed to switch the colours of a painting in their own virtual experience. The same thinking can be applied to the corporate world:
Companies that want to showcase a physical product can leverage AR not just to overcome pandemic-related barriers, but to improve speed to market or to make it easier for buyers to virtually modify products. Thus, for manufacturers AR can truly be a way forward that will help unlock new growth opportunities by fast-tracking procurement processes.
