How Arts Institutions can become more accessible through Immersive Technologies

However, this access does not exist today. 12% of Europeans cannot participate in cultural activities because heritage sites or activities are too far away or difficult to access (EU, 2017). In the US, this picture is even worse: A study by the National Endowment for the Arts (2017) shows that 34% of Americans perceive limited opportunities to participate in arts and cultural activities in their communities, with Black and Hispanic residents, adults over the age of 75 and adults with lower levels of education being particularly more negative. In China, urban households consume on average more than five times as much culture as rural households (China Statistical Yearbook, 2016). Even in Germany, a country internationally known as a “Culture Nation”, cultural offerings are inequally distributed, with various regions having significantly lower amounts of cultural offerings per inhabitant than others (METRUM, 2020) I grew up in a small village in Bavaria, near the German Alps. Although am a violinist myself, I never really went to concerts because the trips to the nearest cities were just too complicated and expensive. However, it was my grandmother who inspired me to co found Atopia: A great lover of art and culture, she had been confined to her bed due to health-related inmobility for as long as I can remember. The only access she had (and consistently used!) was TV concert broadcasts of André Rieu or, once a year as a big highlight, the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert. Not even to mention museums, which she was completely excluded from. Seeing her like that broke my heart. <a href="https://medium.com/@annabell_37704/how-arts-institutions-can-become-more-accessible-through-immersive-technologies-ea632c326d71">Visit Now</a>