New platform sees arts bodies host exhibitions & fundraise with VR
Melanie May | 5 July 2021 | News
An initiative co-created by charity Outset Contemporary Art Fund and art-science collective Visualogical has brought together 15 UK public arts institutions to take exhibitions and events global via virtual reality, on one digital platform – and raise funds.
The initiative, called theVOV, hosts free exhibitions with audiences invited to make micro-donations during their visit to support the participating organisations. Donations are shared equally amongst all participating institutions.
theVOV has just completed a 12-week inaugural season, sponsored by UBS, and announced an encore, reviving all 15 virtual exhibitions for this week only.
From today, Monday 5 to Sunday 11 July, all 15 virtual exhibitions will be live on theVOV with one message: Support the arts.
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Exhibitions are presented by arts organisations spanning the UK, from Tate to the National Galleries of Scotland, Spike Island and Turner Contemporary. 27 artists are exhibiting, including Chris Burden, Lisa Brice, Andreas Gursky, and Yinka Shonibare CBE RA.
theVOV is also offering free access to live events and on-demand content featuring interactive experiences, such as virtual gallery tours, workshops and talks.
Candida Gertler OBE, Co-Founder, Co-Director and Trustee of Outset said:
“Arts institutions must diversify their income streams and now radically adjust themselves as we navigate a changed world that is restarting. Public museums and galleries must carve out a new path for engaging audiences in this new ‘phygital’ world or risk losing audiences and a generation of donors that will simply become disinterested in supporting the visual arts. With the announcement that UBS has now come on board as the official sponsor of theVOV in its first season, we couldn’t be more excited by the endorsement we have received from partners, arts institutions, and all of the audiences that are visiting and supporting the cause; offering a glimmer of hope for fruitful things to come.”
Natasha Hersham, Co-Founder of Visualogical said:
“Whilst art experiences within the ‘metaverse’ are still in their infancy, it is clear from theVOV Season One that the ground is fertile, the potential infinite, and the appetite from both arts institutions and public audiences for virtual experiences has never been greater. It is our role now to support the cultural sector in embracing this new relationship with XR technologies and be at the forefront of ‘phygital’ innovation in the arts.”
Main image: theVOV’s virtual presentation of Shannon Bono’s Untitled (Mangbetu) and Sian Fan’s Seeping
Out Skybox, as part of Sarabande’s digital exhibition ‘Corpus Mentis’, curated by Hikari
Yokoyama and Trino Verkade (2021)
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.