google arts End Culture is 10 years old. Google’s initiative puts museums around the world at people’s fingertips on the web, iOS and Android. It aims to allow users to explore the art, history and wonders of the world – from zooming in in detail in van Gogh’s paintings to taking a virtual tour of Delhi’s heritage. The team’s latest projects include a tool that can find the look of your pet in art; and a selection of recreational, cultural games, artifacts that bring climate data to life.
As India celebrates 75 years of its independence, Google Arts and Culture is joining the celebrations with several initiatives. On this occasion, we talked Simon Rein, Senior Program Manager, Google Arts & Culture, London-based Rein joined Google in 2013. Prior to this, he worked at the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in public relations for their 19 national museums in Berlin and the Humboldt Forum at the Berlin Palace. In the interview, he talks about the journey of Google Arts and Culture in India, planning for 75th Independence Day and more
> Tell us more about the new exhibition you are launching on India’s 75th Independence Day? What is the purpose and motivation behind this launch?
We created Google Arts & Culture to put the world’s cultural treasures within reach of everyone and help museums and other organizations share our diverse heritage with the world. As Google Arts & Culture, we have been partnering with partners in India for over 10 years. So it was clear to us that we wanted to join the celebration of 75 years of India’s independence. To mark the occasion, we went beyond archival storytelling and tried to do something special: bringing together the fields of archives and artists. We worked with ten Indian artists to illustrate some of the most remarkable achievements in the history of modern India in over 120 paintings. We wanted to enable people across India and around the world to know more about traveling to India on some of its defining moments. But we also wanted it to be interactive and fun. That’s why we teamed up with an Indian quiz to create the first Indian crossword puzzle on Google Arts & Culture.
Q. How has the journey of Google Arts & Culture in India been over the past decade?
Over the past ten years, Google Arts & Culture has showcased the rich culture of India in many ways. This journey began in 2012 when the National Museum and the National Gallery of Modern Art joined our platform, and has continued ever since. We are proud to partner with Indian institutions to take India’s cultural heritage to people around the world. Today, people from all over the world can view 2,100 exhibitions provided by over 100 partners in India.
Q. What kind of challenges have you faced while dealing with museums, curators and officials especially in India?
In fact, there are always some challenges. Every piece of art and project is different and we need to treat it with respect and find the best way to show it. Most of the Indian art has an invaluable cultural heritage of thousands of years. This means that many artifacts are delicate and sensitive to light and humidity, requiring exceptionally careful handling. This is why we have developed technologies that help meet the challenge of preserving these functions. Let’s take Art Camera as an example. A lot of the beauty and power of art resides in the details. We know that people like to experience art up close. Millions of people spend time exploring our ultra-high resolution “gigapixel” images, inch by inch—discovering something new each time. With Art Camera, museums can digitize these works with the global public, while ensuring that they are preserved for future generations.
Q. How many museums/institutions are using the Google Arts and Culture platform in India?
Today, people from all over the world can view 2,100 exhibitions provided by over 100 partners in India.
> Who is your biggest audience in India?
We are glad that many people in India enjoy Google Arts & Culture, as it makes museum visits and cultural archives more accessible to all. Some people cannot visit these places, some want to have a closer look at the paintings they have seen, others want to know more about different aspects of their heritage at home. It touches on a variety of topics, which allows different groups to use it in different ways. For example, we think this new collection ‘India Ki Udaan’ – published in English and Hindi – could be more easily used in classrooms and by families to teach history and culture about India.
> Do you have any partnership with State or Central Governments as well?
Yes we do. In addition to cultural institutions, artists and curators, we also partner with governments. In India, we collaborated with the Ministry of Culture created in India; with Ministry of Tourism on Incredible India campaign; and with the Ministry of Railways on Indian Railways.
Q. With regard to your association with art institutions in India, can you talk about the India-specific challenges faced by the team?
I’d like to turn your question to where I see a huge opportunity for a platform that connects cultural collections around the world. A few years ago, I visited the historic “India and the World” exhibition at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya in Mumbai. It was amazing to see the millennia of India’s culture alongside the global context of its time. The same is my hope for a cultural forum – that it allows you to understand the cultural heritage of a country in a broader context. It’s also worth noting that most museums may only display a fraction of their collections – digital collections make it possible to show more of their holdings across museums and borders. Every time I visit India, I am inspired to see how museums like the National Museum of Modern Art and many others are experimenting in the digital space.
Q. Also, are there any Indian-specific best practices/learnings that you have taken in other countries? With Street View in India, how do you see the platform changing/evolving?
Culture is much more than what is found in museums. You can look around, and see culture everywhere. This is especially true for India. That’s why on Google Arts and Culture you get a theme on Indian Railways – you can tell the story of Indian Railways from a cultural angle. And that’s why, when we captured the rich heritage of crafts in India, we not only showcased the artifacts, but went to villages across India to capture the traditional processes of how they were made, and what we can learn from them today. Huh. ,
As far as Street View goes – this technology is not really new to us, Google Arts & Culture was born out of the 20 Cent project in 2011. A small group of art-lovers at Google wondered how we could turn our passion into a project. Empowered by recent technological innovations in smartphones, cloud storage, ultra-high-resolution digital photography, and the synthesis between them, this small group is interested in museums eager to make their collections more accessible through digitization, including street views of cultural spaces. Feels compelled to make contact. , You’ve seen Street View Cars and Street View Trekkers, but what about the Street View Trolley? This hi-tech pushcart was initially developed in 2009 to give visitors the experience of a museum walkthrough, collecting Street View images indoors. In India, we partner with the Archaeological Survey of India to capture monuments like the Taj Mahal, or with the Heritage Transport Museum to capture the Calcutta Tram in 360-degree imagery.
How do we see the platform evolving now? There are many of our most recent innovations in how to make your connection engaging and fun. We developed camera features for Google arts and culture apps like Pocket Gallery, which uses augmented reality to create virtual museum spaces, art filters to play, or pet portraits, of your pet among thousands of artworks. Art has a way of doubling down. , We also create cultural games – be it crosswords or artistic puzzles – that help people learn through play.
Q. Do you have any special 10th anniversary plans for Google Arts & Culture in India?
We hope that the fusion of technologies and India’s rich cultural heritage will provide many more opportunities to share compelling stories, performances and experiences that can be enjoyed by anyone, wherever they are. As we go forward, we will continue to work with partners and artists to expand the ‘India Ki Udaan’ collection – this is an ongoing initiative for us.
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