Luís Teixeira (July 25, 2025)
Augmented Reality (AR) offers transformative potential for the cultural heritage sector, creating dynamic, interactive experiences that bridge the physical and digital worlds. This presentation explores how AR technologies are being leveraged to enhance visitor engagement, deepen educational impact, and support preservation efforts within museums, galleries, and historical sites. Drawing upon the foundational work of Silva & Teixeira (2020) on developing immersive XR platforms, and illustrated with diverse examples from contemporary art and practice, we examine the spectrum of AR applications. From enhancing static museum exhibits and enabling virtual reconstructions to creating site-specific art installations and virtual galleries, AR provides powerful tools to make heritage more accessible, inclusive, and compelling. The discussion addresses key design principles, inherent challenges such as technology dependence and sustainability, and the broader implications for social justice and democratizing access. By analyzing projects like the Serralves Museum platform and artist initiatives such as Nancy Baker Cahill’s “Revolutions” and Olafur Eliasson’s “Wunderkammer,” this talk demonstrates AR’s capacity to enrich storytelling, foster deeper connections with audiences, and position cultural institutions at the forefront of technological innovation.
To further links:
- Silva, M., Teixeira, L. (2022). eXtended Reality (XR) Experiences in Museums for Cultural Heritage: A Systematic Review. In: Lv, Z., Song, H. (eds) Intelligent Technologies for Interactive Entertainment. INTETAIN 2021. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 429. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99188-3_5
- M. Silva and L. Teixeira, “Developing an eXtended Reality platform for Immersive and Interactive Experiences for Cultural Heritage: Serralves Museum and Coa Archeologic Park,” 2020 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR-Adjunct), Recife, Brazil, 2020, pp. 300-302, doi: 10.1109/ISMAR-Adjunct51615.2020.00084
- Manuel Silva, Rodrigo Assaf, Denise Pollini, Diogo Morais, and Luis Teixeira. 2020. The Apprentice Gaze – AR Experience on Serralves Museum. In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Digital and Interactive Arts (ARTECH ’19). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 93, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1145/3359852.3359977
- Acute Art (Olafur Eliasson, Marina Abramovic AR works): https://acuteart.com/
- Nancy Baker Cahill – “Revolutions” AR Installation: https://www.filmindependent.org/people/revolutions/
- Montreal Mural Festival AR: Information can often be found on the festival’s official website (https://muralfestival.com/) or related press releases about their AR integration.
- 4th Wall AR App (used by Nancy Baker Cahill): Search for “4th Wall AR App” in your device’s app store.