What is it like to use Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gallery One?


Digital Media
April 20, 2015

In February 2015, I participated in an ideas workshop organised by the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA). This explored how their famous Gallery One experience had resonated with audiences since it was launched two years earlier, and how the service might be developed in the future

A major requirement of this was that workshop participants actually used the in-gallery interactives – played with them, re-used them – in other words tried them out like a visitor might.

Here’s a summary of what I found.

There has been a lot written about Gallery One. Rather than add more written text on the subject, I thought I’d just show what the interactives look like when you are standing in front of them, so I’ve use video.

NB – These videos are aimed at museum practitioners. They are produced from footage shot on handheld cameras including my mobile phone. I’ve also used screenshots where needed, so it’s a bit vérité.

Collection Wall

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How the Collection Wall connect to the Art Lens App

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In-gallery interactives inside Gallery One

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Digital signage

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Notes – The three areas of Gallery One

Gallery One has three distinct areas:

  • The Collection Wall (which can connect data to the Art Lens app)
  • The main Gallery One space with art Works and related interactives called “Art Lenses”
  • The Studio Play area for young children and families

In addition, there is the Art Lens App, which adds:

  • Personalisation of object tours based on objects from the Collection Wall
  • A scanning function for extra information on some objects
  • A map indicating which objects are in each room
  • Geo-location of the visitor and objects via the visitors own devices (you can loan them too)

There are two entrances to Gallery One.

  • One entrance is by Studio play and has a large digital display panel (the “Beacon”) immediately inside the entrance.
  • The other is through a temporary display space and leads to the Collection Wall.

Video footage and screenshots taken on location at Cleveland Museum of Art 26-28 February 2015

About the author


Digital Media
April 20, 2015

Digital Content Delivery Manager at the V&A. Information scientist at work and hacky maker of strange things out of it.

More from Andrew Lewis
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Comments

andrew – Thank you for participating at CMA’s brainstorming and for your blog. I really enjoyed your videos. I think they do a great job explaining the functionality. Infact – I wish we had these last year for conferences. Very iseful. I already have passed the link to a few museum practitioners who were asking about how it all works. Lovely.

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