An Investigation of the Visitor's Spatial Experience in Virtual Exhibitions

Abstract

Along with the technological advancements in the digitalisation of physical objects and spaces, the COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent necessity for cultural institutions to display exhibition content online. Exhibition making is a process of knowledge production through an order of display that is integrated into the spatial and architectural context of an exhibition space. The authors believe that virtual tours that are developed by simply creating a replica of the physical exhibition and the virtual display of individual artifacts offer limited spatial experience. They believe that virtual exhibitions as alternatives to physical experience of exhibitions still require a critical reflection in terms of their spatial context, effectiveness, benefits, and limitations. By examining the results of a three-week workshop with communication design students, the chapter discusses the current use of staging and navigation possibilities for displaying digital content. It further highlights the spatial relationality as a key concern for the translation of physical exhibitions into virtual space.