Virtual Art Galleries: What happens now?

My thoughts have recently focused on what happens now we (in the UK) appear to be coming out of lock-down and covid protection measures. Is there a future for VR/virtual galleries? and what will they look like?

A positive thing to come out of the crisis was the sudden need for alternatives to 'normal' art galleries... which was great for me as it allowed me to use my skills to help provide it (and improve them on the way).

On the whole, it seems that many people have been forced into confronting technology that they might otherwise have not done so and I have seen the benefits of it. For example, two of my most popular galleries have seen 9000 and 4000 visits, far more than we could have hoped for in a normal onsite exhibition.

It does look like virtual galleries will continue to run alongside real exhibitions. Commercial galleries have seen the benefit in terms of online visitors as well as the indefinite length of low-cost exhibition time. This could either be in a completely manufactured space or even a 360 photographic tour (which would be a lot easier to produce on the back of a real exhibition). Indeed, a number of commercial enterprises have been set up in response to gallery needs during the lockdowns, which will create a virtual gallery to order.  https://emperia.co.uk/art/ and https://exhibbit.com/home/ are examples of this. Public galleries have also introduced virtual exhibitions like these two from The Harris Museum in Preston - https://www.theharris.org.uk/product/the-artful-line-2/ and Open Eye in Liverpool - https://openeye.org.uk/whatson/vr-l-a-city-through-its-people/

On the back of these commercial needs and enterprises, there appears to be more potential for curated online content rather than individual artists web sites. I have noticed that a number of 'normal' gallery websites have started to curate online exhibitions, made up of work by many different artists. These are not necessarily virtual shows; they could just be a collection of images on a page. Normally, art websites are based around the individual (artist), but the lockdown has seen a rise in mixed content, in its own right, and is not something we have seen outside of supporting info for normal curated exhibitions and competition pages. This could potentially feed into a continuation and need for virtual galleries.

We may now see individual artists make use of this technology to self-promote their work. Lock-down has shown people that they do not need to rely on traditional systems to exhibit. Accessible technology has democratised the process, similar to what YouTube has done for grassroots music and film. For example, https://www.artsteps.com/ provides an easy-to-use platform and interface for users to create their own (free!) virtual exhibitions and there of hundreds of self-made galleries to explore.

It appears that lockdown made viewing artworks, in an experiential way, online more acceptable, or at least has shown people that it has worth. Perhaps that will continue into the future where other areas of legacy have yet to reveal themselves.

If you are reading this blog and feel you can add something to my research then please comment… even if you are correcting me or don’t agree with something that I say.