TheVOV’s virtual presentation of Chris Burden’s 14 Magnolia Doubles as part of the South London Gallery’s digital revival of his solo exhibition (2006)
Acclaimed and significant exhibitions over the past 15 years, organized by UK institutions such as Tate, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and National Galleries Scotland, are brought back to life on a new digital platform called theVOV. The new virtual portal, founded by the charity Outset Contemporary Art Fund and the London-based art history collective Visualogical, is due to launch on April 19th. The first part of the VOV program will be available on Vortic Art, an enhanced reality platform, for ten weeks.
Major shows slated to make a comeback online include Chris Burden at South London Gallery (2006), Ibrahim Mahama: Parliament of Ghosts at Whitworth Gallery (2019) and Andreas Gursky’s retrospective at Hayward Gallery in London ( 2018). On May 17th, the day UK museums are slated to reopen as part of the government’s roadmap from lockdown, Turner Contemporary will unveil Katie Paterson & JMW Turner: A Place That Only Exists By Moonlight (2019). Other participating institutions are The Photographers’ Gallery in London and Ikon in Birmingham.
The organizers say they have created “a bespoke virtual gallery for the exhibitions, with some institutions creating exact replicas of their physical gallery while others creating fantastic otherworldly spaces that could not possibly exist in the physical realm”. In addition, four series of live events are planned, including “lunch tours” with artists and curators as well as an “evening with” program with panel discussions and “the first life drawing class of a digital avatar”.
All content will be available free of charge, but visitors to the new website will be invited to donate to the participating galleries as part of a fundraising campaign. “TheVOV opens up new sources of income for public arts organizations and helps them master the new challenge of monetizing digital content. The first season introduces a groundbreaking micro-philanthropic model where users are invited to donate to support the arts. The funds raised will be evenly distributed among the participating institutions, which strengthens the ethos of unity, ”a statement said.
Natasha Hersham and Victoria Westerman, co-founders of Visualogical, said in a statement: “Welcome to the ‘Phygital Era’ [digital and physical]. It’s so exciting to work with 15 of the UK’s leading cultural institutions and experiment with the latest in XR technology. “The Outset Contemporary Art Fund adds,” We have seen artists and institutions make content freely available in unprecedented ways. As always, Outset has watched and listened to what we identified as the most pressing need of our beloved creative sector, and then we looked for partners to help us respond. ”
