At a time where everyone is stuck at home, and museums are closed, the art scene changed a lot. Many institutions decided to use new techniques to keep on going: Art Basel went completely online, Christie’s and Sotheby’s developed their online bidding system, and several museums and galleries created virtual exhibitions. 

When I first heard about the concept of virtual exhibition, I have to admit I was a little sceptical. How can someone recreate the feeling one has when physically going to a museum? But that’s not the point here. The idea is to change the feeling, to adapt a three-century long tradition to the 21^st century. 

One exhibition that did that particularly well is Sights of Wonder, a project produced by MA Students of the University of Birmingham, in collaboration with the Barber Institute and the Royal Collection Trust. The original project was to present, in the Barber Institute, a selection of the photographs of the Royal Tour of 1862 of Prince Albert Edward (the future King Edward VII). 

But when the pandemic came to the UK, and lockdown was installed, the whole project was jeopardised. In only two months, the curators completely changed their approach, contacted a website designer, and managed to make this incredible online project. 

The exhibition appears like a very elaborate slideshow. It starts with a general presentation of both the Royal Tour, and its protagonists. It then goes on to show, one by one, a selection of 26 photos of the journey. There are also additional details about each photo, available by using the “Information” button on each page. 

The overall design of the exhibition is very successful: the background colour is quite neutral, both bringing forward and matching with the photos exhibited, and the project is not overflowing with text! Much like in a physical exhibition, the format adapts to its visitor ! 

Finally, one of the advantages of doing a digital project, is the possibility to create links, go back and forth, do more research etc. Sights of Wonder takes advantage of this perfectly: there are index pages, additional background details, etc. 

I’m in awe at the final result! What a beautiful and incredibly interesting experience !

For those of you interested: https://sightsofwonder.barber.org.uk