Interview conducted during the pandemic period in September 7, 2020 on ARt Tribune by Mario Gerosa and Gianpiero Moioli
Dario Buratti, founder of VR Cult, shares his insights on the use of virtual reality by galleries and museums.
This is the second edition of our series dedicated to the accelerated use of virtual reality in exhibitions due to lockdowns. This time, Dario Buratti, the owner of VR Cult, shares his thoughts.
Are many museums and galleries adopting virtual spaces?
There is definitely interest from artists, galleries, and institutions like the Quadriennale di Roma to operate within virtual spaces.
What examples stand out in this context?
In Italy, several interesting projects have emerged recently, such as those presented by Marina Bellini at MiC (Musei in Comune di Roma) on Second Life, and also the works of Patrick Moya. Not to mention the vast exhibition spaces on Sansar, which have hosted events related to design, cinema, and art in general. We ourselves have presented similar experiences in the past and continue to do so now.
Can you share any of your virtual museum or gallery projects?
Currently, we have a large exhibition space on Sansar, created by Marina Bellini and myself, dedicated to art. At the moment, it hosts exhibitions by Musante and Matteo Guariso. I handled the architecture and scene configuration, while Bellini took care of Musante’s exhibition. I personally curated the Guariso exhibition. We also founded Dogma VR Factory on Sansar, which will soon host personal exhibitions by Barry William Hale, Saturno Buttò, and Miguel Angel Martin.
Compared to ten years ago, have there been significant advancements in virtual spaces for exhibitions?
Undoubtedly. First, we’ve witnessed the evolution of VR devices, which enable a much deeper immersive experience. We’ve also seen the rise of social VR platforms that allow for more realistic and engaging virtual navigation.
In the future, do you think non-interactive virtual tours or interactive ones in virtual worlds will become more widespread?
Definitely the latter. We just need to better communicate the concept of “immersion” to the public so they understand the difference—and that can only be achieved by letting them experience it firsthand.
What are your thoughts on mixed-visit approaches, where visitors in the real museum encounter others in the virtual version of the museum?
Crossover experiences are certainly intriguing and should be further developed. Personally, I’m unaware of such events in art galleries or museums, aside from MOYA’s innovative experiments. I’ve seen other crossovers, such as the one Moioli did at a Brera presentation in 2011, SL/RL.
For non-interactive galleries, Unity is widely used. Are there other suitable graphics engines?
Certainly. Unreal Engine could be a good alternative.
Which virtual worlds are best suited for creating exhibition spaces?
In my opinion, there are three: Second Life, Sansar, and Sinespace.
When do you think Oculus-style headsets will become popular for gallery and museum visits?
In my opinion, once they achieve better miniaturization and user-friendly ergonomics. Price is secondary, but they will remain niche devices until Augmented Reality enters the market more fully. It’s also a question of content.
Mario Gerosa, Gianpiero Moioli