In a year deeply marked by virtual interactions, a temporary suppression of urban public spaces, and a profusion of digital exhibitions, the Virtual Online Museum of Art (Voma)—the world's first fully virtual art museum—has opened. Set in a context as intangible as its concept–perhaps on the shores of a lake or an inlet, one cannot be sure–the virtual building features a unique architecture, composed of complex, somewhat ambiguous volumes and a simulated materiality reminiscent of pigmented concrete.
Conceived by English artist Stuart Semple in the 1990s, the virtual art museum concept could only be realized through more recent technologies. Unlike real-world museums that adapted their collections for virtual tours during the COVID-19 pandemic (whether through interactive, immersive visits or simple image databases), Voma offers a fully digital experience that allows viewers to walk through exhibition spaces and closely examine the artworks–an experience very similar to the one proposed by the Cabana de Arte project, developed by Angola's Banga Group, but on a larger scale.
The project was developed in partnership with architect Emily Mann, who designed the museum's architecture, and consultant Lee Cavaliere, former curator of the London Art Fair, who was responsible for gathering the works exhibited at Voma. Collaboration with major institutions like the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Musée d'Orsay in Paris made it possible to bring works by artists such as Hieronymus Bosch, Henri Matisse, Édouard Manet, Li Wei, Paula Rego, Jasper Johns, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Brazilians Luiz Zerbini and Lygia Clark to the virtual museum.
Voma's collection consists of digital versions of works from real-world museums, galleries, and private collections. Within the virtual experience, visitors can wander among the works, zoom in on paintings, watch videos, access the details of each piece, and read the exhibition's informative texts. In addition, support spaces, much like in a physical museum, are available to the viewer–a café functions as an online chat room, and outdoor areas are subject to changing weather conditions.
Voma represents another step in the digitalization of social and human relationships, one of those initiatives that only needed a small push to be brought into reality, in turn capturing people and transporting them into the virtual world. Furthermore, it can be seen as another step toward "democratizing" access to art and culture–or, if that falls short, there is always the virtual gift shop, where visitors can buy souvenirs like t-shirts and calendars.
Source: O Globo.
This article was written by Romullo Baratto. The translation is powered by AI.
