"nice gallery" is about the development of three-dimensional, virtual exhibition projects. Including specially created spaces that represent our own gallery spaces on site. A serves in this respect as a digital alter ego. Nice gallery aims at the best possible combination of free access to art & culture for as many as possible, the protection of resources through virtualisation, the involvement of broad social groups into the projects and the aestheticisation of space, motion and interaction.
Cross-border/international
Germany
Poland
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Görlitz-Zgorzelec (DE/PL), but the scope of this project is international (web).
This is a virtual / digital project that was realised with participants from several countries (especially Germany, Poland). Görlitz (DE), together with Zgorzelec (PL), is a German-Polish city on the border. In this respect, cross-border activities are more common than unusual (...).
Since our project is presented and can be used on the Internet, is also multilingual and addresses a broad target audience, the orientation / scope is "international". At the same time, we are a small cultural institution which has local and regional roots.
Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-11-30
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Förderverein Kulturstadt Görlitz-Zgorzelec e.V. (FVKS) Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Matthias Last name of representative: Krick Gender: Male Nationality: Germany Function: Member / Head of the Board of Directors Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Untermarkt 23 Town: Görlitz Postal code: 02826 Country: Germany Direct Tel:+49 3581 6843325 E-mail:vorstand@fvks.eu Website:https://www.fvks.one/nicegallery/
Sustainability through virtualisation: nice gallery is about the development of three-dimensional, virtual exhibition projects. Including specially created spaces that represent our gallery spaces on site. A serves in this respect as a digital alter ego. Nice gallery aims at the best possible combination of free access to art & culture for as many as possible, the protection of resources through virtualisation, the involvement of broad social groups into the projects and the aestheticisation of space, motion and interaction.
During the project period (until 30.11.2022), the envisaged (technical) result was fully achieved, i.e. (1) the creation of a digital version of our gallery spaces for use in 3D applications on the internet. (2) Based on this, the production and publication of three 3D reference exhibitions, within which one can move completely freely from a "first-person perspective" and interact with the spaces / assets.
The overall project is published at https://fvks.one/nicegallery and includes in particular the three reference exhibitions: (a) "ASA (Abstract Sea Art)" by Alexander Ostrowitzki, who as an underwater photographer captures - mostly - abstract motifs. Then (b) an exhibition of impressionists with selected works from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, including: Vincent Van Gogh, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Edgar Degas, Paul Cezanne. And finally (c) an exhibition entitled "Materialities" presenting selected 3D objects and their interactions with the spaces, shapes, colours and structures. This was preceded by the digital measurement of the interior gallery space at Untermarkt 23 in Görlitz and the corresponding digital construction as a basis for the above and future projects.
nice gallery: flexibility in the inclusion of themes, contributors and interaction schemes; protection of resources through virtualisation, emotional commitment through aestheticisation, interaction and perspectival sensation.
"digital alter ego"
aestheticisation
virtualisation
emotional bonding
low-threshold
We direct our understanding of sustainability in the context of this project towards the following criteria: (1) Reduction of the resources required to achieve the objectives (exhibitions / projects) in various areas (logistics, production, mobility, public relations, on site, ...). (2) Efficient use of resources to achieve these objectives. (3) Reproducibility of processes in new or different contexts. In this sense, the criteria represent objectives for sustainability.
Ad (1):
Our gallery, i.e. our (small) exhibition and event centre on site in Görlitz, can benefit from virtualisation in various ways. Through the (mostly) digital presentation of content, we drastically reduce the use of materials, i.e. printouts, small and consumable items, public relations materials, etc. . Production processes have also changed in that contributors meet more often virtually, materials are digitalised and processes are no longer tied to specific locations.Also, the repeated use of project results can take place without major (additional) resource consumption, as the presentation hardly causes any installation costs (on site).
Ad (2):
When selecting production and presentation environments (hardware, cloud, etc.), we pay attention to the most energy-efficient provision and ongoing use possible. In this sense, collaboration with participants in cultural and art production projects as well as in cultural education can also benefit from increasing virtualization.
Ad (3):
The nice gallery is, as mentioned, a digital alter ego of our own gallery spaces. Therefore, it is also possible to transfer this analog-digital combination to other places and contexts. The digital capture of spaces is in principle possible everywhere ! Since the accompanying work processes do not change either, the complete setup is reproducible.
"Sustainability by means of virtualisation" - in addition to technical aspects, nice gallery addresses also ecological and social challenges.
"Aesthetics and quality of experience" is central to our project: nice gallery is considered as laboratory of the possibilities, the nice gallery would like to convey an authentic experience in virtual environments. It focuses on the overall arrangement of virtual spaces, the linked possibilities of users (motion, viewpoint, interaction), and experimental features that will be further developed in subsequent projects.
Using three virtual exhibitions as examples, the nice gallery aims to create an experience that is as authentic as possible: without apps, without plugins, “Internet only”. This puts the focus on the users, in particular they are “picked up where they usually are”, namely on the Internet. Therefore, access barriers, such as plugins or the like, were dispensed with. However, the WebGL standard for the transmission of three-dimensional content in web browsers (Web Graphics Library) does not yet offer all the possibilities that are available offline. But nonetheless quite a few.
Users can move around the exhibition spaces completely freely and interact with their surroundings from a “first-person” perspective. It is therefore particularly exciting to see how the overall arrangement of “space and art” is experienced by the respective visitors. Due to the (moving) picture language, the sample applications are suitable for a larger target audience, even internationally.
Accompanying information is provided in such a way that it supports the respective exhibition tour as much as possible, but does not interrupt it. “More is always possible”, which is why the nice gallery is also a “laboratory of future developments”. Not only for us. Aspects such as walkways / optimal user navigation, lighting, audio – motion pictures, curation in virtual environments, all promise variety.
Some of the virtual reference exhibitions play with the whole composition, the interplay of materialities with forms, colors, light and structures.
nice gallery is open to all. Even if the development of the sample applications as well as future exhibitions, presentations or visualizations cannot be accomplished without (financial) effort, the use is free of charge.
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Digression:
In developing the project, we asked ourselves why all cultural / artistic outputs always have to be presented as physical objects. Often this involves a high demand on resources and at the same time the claimed results cannot justify this effort. So why does everything always have to be printed out, shown on site, do vernissages have to take place and accompanying trips have to be made ? It is not the art that demands this. If it is - instead - about sociability or social togetherness, are there certainly more sustainable possibilities ... .
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Virtual spaces in terms of designs for holistic virtual reality formats ("Metaverse" etc.) have the potential to overcome financial, social and technical barriers to entry, if that is wanted by their creators ... . Before this happens, however, our concept shows how access to these (virtual) worlds can be as low-threshold as possible. All that is needed is a stable Internet connection, access to a computer (laptop, desktop) and the willingness to move in this environment from a "first-person perspective".
If at least the access to cultural / artistic activities (e.g., exhibitions / presentations) would be possible without the aforementioned restrictions, social participation could be significantly increased. The prerequisite for this is (however) a political willingness to see Internet provision as a service of general interest - and mainly not as a business area for companies. Internet for all thus also means more social participation for all.
The nice gallery was developed in a non-profit organization that is run 100% by volunteers. Of course, technical and artistic services as well as accompanying infrastructures were acquired from third parties. The accompanying discussion process about the goals and direction of the project involved numerous contributors and also led to a focus on comparatively easy / low-threshold access. As this is not a commercial project, the user perspective is paramount. This applies to both, the direct use of nice gallery and the effects that such projects can or will have in the upcoming "new Internet":
By making the project results freely available and relatively easy to access, we are experiencing a good reception in terms of people using the application. We are only a small cultural institution, but access figures in the six-digit range (during two to three months) are an indicator of the rapid spread of the project.
The project also changes the processes of producing and presenting art and culture. To what extent this contributes to a democratisation or improved participation of interested but disadvantaged groups remains to be seen. What is foreseeable, however, is that the basis for cultural activities will be enlarged by the virtual dimension, and thus also the range of offerings (as long as analogue formats are not displaced by virtual ones), and thus the perceptible and usable diversity.
The degree of involvement and influence of citizens on the project varied according to their level of engagement and the purpose of their participation. Some do have access to new opportunities for learning, entertainment, and even social interaction. In general, The more citizens have access to similar projects, the more likely virtual offerings of holistic virtual reality are growing, while raising concerns about privacy and security either. On the other hand, this involvement leads to a better understanding about the impact and consequences of Virtual Reality on society.
The design and implementation of nice gallery has involved engagement from various stakeholders at different levels: both in terms of practical participation in the project and the framework conditions that contributed to its success or concrete structure and design.
Local level: As stated under the previous section, the project development was preceded by a broad discussion process involving interested people in the environment of our cultural institution. Local representatives and artists as well as (inter)national ones, furthermore communities and organisations have been involved in the design and implementation of our project by providing feedback, assets (e.g. artworks) and insights into possible impacts and requirements for sustainable outcomes. People directly involved in the project also provided their respective personal perspectives, i.e. knowledge of specific cultural, social or economic conditions and needs.
Regional level: We identified regional stakeholders for our project especially among multipliers (e.g. media, cultural organisations), artists and similar institutions like ours. For these groups, the nice gallery is - hopefully - an exemplary project to create new / additional possibilities for cultural production and presentation, both in terms of processes and outcomes.
National and European level: The focus of nice gallery is international (multilingual, participants from several countries, visual / artistic content, etc. ...). With this in mind, we address above all our partners during the implementation of the project (local, regional (inter-)national), namely the funding body(ies) at national level, who played an important role: their expertise and support for an experimental project. Although the nice gallery is directed towards an international (especially European) target audience, we are too small to actively involve European institutions in the project. Perhaps this will change in the future :-) .
Depending on the respective scientific theoretical orientation, our project integrates to some extend the following disciplines in particular: Aesthetics / art theory, computer science / 3D design, media art, social / cultural anthropology.
Aesthetic concerns play a decisive role in the design and implementation of nice gallery: the challenge was to create a virtual environment that is as authentic and immersive as possible, and which not only appeals to the users but also enables sensual insights. 3D design (and programming) is crucial to the technical implementation, as we use advanced computer graphics, simulation, and visualization techniques to create believable and visually appealing virtual environments. Combining traditional art forms with new media technologies, has a significant impact on the design of our nice gallery. Artists working in this field contribute to the creation of virtual environments that are both aesthetically pleasing and engaging. They also offer unique perspectives on how to use technology in innovative ways to create art and their presentation. Cultural (/social) anthropology provides us with a better understanding on how people interact with and within nice gallery as we take into account the social norms and behaviors of users. In future extensions of the project it will help us identify the cultural and social needs of users and how those needs can be incorporated into the design of virtual entities.
Despite all the euphoria and appreciation, one thing has to be kept in mind: we are a small organisation, the exchange within the team and in our network follows less academic conventions than our goal to realise spatial appropriation and emotional engagement in virtual environments. With this in mind, the different actors shared their perspectives and competences to numerous working meetings and the collaborative development process. This resulted in a common view and now makes further extensions easier and more productive ... .
Those who appreciate and are familiar with us, our activities and our premises (not only the galleries) on site, can build an inner bond and closeness with the "nice gallery" project that is not only symbolic but can be experienced practically.
Many of our activities are socio-cultural and involve civic engagement, so that the nice gallery will have a greater significance as a (virtual) place of exchange. For example, we could already present a new exhibition there in December 2022 that makes the results of creative workshops with young people tangible ( https://fvks.eu/en/cc-2022/ ). In order to be perceived and demanded as a (cultural) venue for as many as possible, awareness and visibility are a prerequisite. In this respect, we are pleased that the number of hits on our website in the last two months has reached six figures (see attached file "FVKS-UWE-NIG-Zugriffszahlen_Jan_2023_Dez_2022-310123.pdf").
This is a good starting point for promoting the objectives of the project and to push the demand for participation and use. This means to attend events and participate in communities on site and in virtual arrangements, connect with like-minded individuals who share similar interests, create meaningful experiences such as exploring (and in future creating) virtual environments or sharing art. Direct beneficiaries from nice gallery include furthermore access to an array of experiences and opportunities for self-expression and entertainment. Indirect beneficiaries can take advantage from the development of new technologies and innovations in areas such as virtual reality, resource conservation and even artificial intelligence. Additionally, projects like nice gallery have potential to provide new artistic, cultural and educational opportunities.
The nice gallery creates a place where "belonging" can also develop, in particular by contributors themselves influencing the design, future uses and functionalities. Entry barriers are comparatively moderate.
The project has social implications, although our focus has been and still is the exhibition area. In this respect, we are comparing the nice gallery to other digital or virtual applications. There are a number of ready-made solutions on the "market" that are used more or less frequently, including, for example, Matterport-supported apps or construction kits from kunstmatrix.com . These are efficiently designed, but one notices quite quickly that spatial appropriation and emotional bindings are also a matter of "crafting".
Larger, even important art and cultural institutions are now also using three-dimensional solutions for the presentation of content. Apart from the above-mentioned possibilities, these are also one-off productions. We think here that our nice gallery is groundbreaking for a discussion about the nature of immersive properties and factors in virtual environments. This question does not arise systematically with the handmade solutions that we notice in our peer observations, because the focus there is not so much on the holistic experience, but rather on content and its presentation.
In this respect, our approach can also make a contribution as to what extent virtual reality applications (or similar) offer real benefits for directly and indirectly involved stakeholders. This applies both from a practical point of view (immersive experience, participation, belonging) and with regard to pressing issues of our time, such as sustainability and resource conservation.
It may sound banal, but why does everything has to be collected, archived on site, printed out and presented in premises. In this logic, we will not achieve a paradigm shift, but rather increase the need for real space, new buildings, new roads, etc... After all, that creates (economic) growth. Right. But wouldn't that also be possible in virtual environments ? Thus, nice gallery is a competitive contribution to rethink, or at least to think about sustainability on a small scale.
Our approach is based on the use of advanced technologies to create an immersive and interactive environment. This involves the development of virtual spaces that are modelled on real ones, from where users can seamlessly start their experience. The nice gallery is designed to blur the lines between the virtual and physical world, offering an emotionalising integration of digital and physical venues. We aim to provide human interaction and experience that is not limited by time, space or physical constraints. Furthermore, users should be able to connect and share their online and offline experiences.
In order to achieve this, it is indeed necessary to have digital measurements that are as detailed as possible. Nevertheless, for the use in virtual environments it is important that (a) spatial elements are matched to each other; (b) the control of motion and interaction is fairly easy to achieve; (c) experiential learning is made possible (learning curve) and (d) the identification and knowledge of users concerning topics / contents and procedures ("rules of the game") can already be assumed.
Analysing user behaviour in different environments was an important aspect in our conceptualisation of the project. Visitors to the exhibitions on site were "unobtrusively" monitored when it came to documenting walking routes, stays, physical contact with elements of the space and any particular behaviour. In a similar way, we also traced these observations in virtual environments, especially with VR glasses. Our aim was to derive patterns that are as general as possible and that also retain their validity when analogue and virtual "worlds of experience" are linked.
Based on this, the relevant disciplines and areas of knowledge could subsequently be identified and addressed. This was done in particular with regard to their contribution to the (direct) structuring of the project and their possible integration into the collaborative development of the nice gallery.
This is deliberately a virtual competition entry for this call. It contains "in a natural way" (immanent) possibilities for replication, reconstruction or use in other contexts. This actually applies to almost all relevant areas:
- multidisciplinarity / integration of several fields of knowledge;
- co-development / collaboration / patterns of interaction / processes of development
- technologies and techniques used (open source / free / freemium)
- contents / topics / products (e.g. exhibitions)
- conditions of usage (contexts)
- geographical locations
- user and stakeholder groups
The linking of analogue and virtual elements (e.g. venues, equipment) is a general prerequisite for transferability to other contexts: provided that the necessary technical equipment and personal knowledge are available or can be organised. The extent to which individual fields of knowledge then (have to) interact with each other in order to find a useful starting point for the project is decided on a case-by-case approach. The project structure also depends on the techniques and technologies to be used. In this respect, the "free community" (open source or similar) offers enough possibilities, if necessary.
Exhibitions are obviously only one possible usage case; higher-level contexts would be "social interactions". Our project could - with adaptations and extensions - also be used for readings, guided tours, concerts, (extracurricular) learning or other forms of educational events. Likewise for business applications (conferences, presentations, ...).
From a technical point of view, there are no restrictions on the transferability to other geographical regions or user and stakeholder groups. What is exciting here is the social context: What is allowed? What is customary ? What is desirable? Who is allowed to participate? These aspects also have an influence on (ecological) sustainability in our project context: only what can be virtualised contributes to sustainability.
Insofar as the concept of sustainability is discussed beyond the pure ecological understanding, nice gallery can provide a (small) impulse for coping with subsequent current challenges:
Climate change and scarcity of resources: In this context, our approach of transforming analogue spaces of experience and interaction into virtual counterparts raises the question of whether it makes sense to use resources in different areas. Although we increase the necessary energy consumption through the operation of virtual arrangements, this can also be fed by renewable energy sources. In contrast, our project (and its possible extensions) reduces the consumption of raw materials for the production of equipment, presentation materials and much more. The contribution to the reduction of a "CO2 footprint" will be the greater, the more a project avoids travel, the use of non-renewable raw materials, sealing of surfaces, etc..
Participation (poverty and social injustice): Our solution can indicate that the (global) inequality of distribution in terms of income, access to education, health care and intact environment ultimately also goes hand in hand with the participation of broad parts of the population in societal decisions and developments. Creating spaces and opening them up for use by as many as possible would be a helpful approach to raising awareness about the operating mechanisms of democratic processes.
Although addressing conflicts, war and overpopulation as further current and global challenges is beyond the scope and reach of our project, its possible future extensions can at least provide impetus for dealing with ethnical, social, religious or socio-political issues in the future. Social spaces in virtual environments require the transformation, but also the realignment on analogue patterns of thinking, acting and interacting.
To what extent sustainability can be achieved, or at least supported, through virtualisation remains an engaging question.
