Collections from three of Greece’s major museums go interactive with Google’s Arts and Culture platform under the ambitious project “Greek Art Now,” with the aim of digitizing and showcasing the country’s contemporary art to a worldwide audience.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Culture Minister Lina Mendoni launched the project on Tuesday at the National Museum of Contemporary Art.
The groundbreaking initiative “Greek Art Now,” which is a collaboration between Greece’s Culture Ministry and Google’s Arts and Culture platform, showcases modern and contemporary Greek art through more than 60 digital stories and 1,800 high-resolution images, as well as artworks from contemporary Greek artists, spanning from the 19th century to present.
Currently, featured museums and institutions are the National Gallery, the National Museum of Contemporary Art and Thessaloniki’s Metropolitan Organization of Museums of Visual Arts (MOMus).
The platform offers virtual museum tours, interactive art exploration through Art Camera technology and augmented reality experiences -the exhibition “A World Without Blue” under the platform Pocket Gallery for example, offers visitors the opportunity to digitally wonder through various pieces of art directly through their mobile phones.
Moreover, users of Google’s Art and Culture platform can digitally deconstruct and reconstruct artworks, while exploring hidden stories behind the collections.
Greece to digitally transform visitor experience at museums and archaeological sites
Greece is digitally transforming its museums and archaeological sites under a new project aiming to modernize the visitor experience while safeguarding Greek heritage through cutting-edge technology.
The 27.8 million euro ($30.8 million) initiative, funded by the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, is led by the Organization for the Management and Development of Cultural Resources (ODAP) in partnership with Greece’s Ministry of Culture.
According to the ministry, the goal is to deliver universal accessibility, personalized services and a more immersive connection to history.
The project, which has a 14-month timeline, is merging history with technology in 107 cultural sites across the country, with the rollout of interactive technologies, advanced digital tools and smart infrastructure.
It includes a unified ticket and accessing control system, the introduction of Hellenic Heritage Web App a digital membership platform to engage users beyond physical visits, Augmented reality (AR) at Sounion, Delos, the Asklepion of Kos, the Rotunda of Thessaloniki and the Ancient Agora of Athens.
Moreover, there will be virtual reality (VR) applications at the site of Ancient Olympia, smart signage, QR codes and real-time content at 30 locations, along with advanced visitor monitoring and asset protection systems.
“We are advancing the digital transformation of archaeological and museum services in line with our strategic commitment to sustainable cultural development,” said Lina Mendoni, the Greek Culture Minister.
The project is being implemented by the OTE-Singular Logic-Radiant consortium, selected through an international tender.