December 5, 2014
Donnelly's 'Seen/Unseen' presented at Nordic Digital Excellence in Museums Conference in Warsaw, Poland
"Seen/Unseen : Dancing Art Inside and Outside the Museum" by Laura Donnelly, assistant professor in the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, was presented as part of the Nordic Digital Excellence in Museums Engaging Spaces — Interpretation, Design and Digital Strategies Conference, Dec. 1-3, in Warsaw, Poland.
Proposals that dealt with issues of crossing boundaries and creating links between experience design, architecture, information and communications technology, digital strategies and interpretative content that explored critical aspects of visitor engagement were accepted from and international group of museum and heritage professionals — galleries, archives, libraries and museums, — innovation experts — universities, research and technology transfer centres, startups — and creative industries.
Presented in the category Experience Design Inside/Outside Museums, Donnelly's presentation focused on the engagement opportunities inherent in site-specific dance. "Seen and Unseen" two simultaneous dances for six dancers — three located inside the museum and three outside — was created as part of the Night of Wonder Gala in 2013 for the Beach Museum. The dance linked spaces inside the Beach Museum with the outdoor interactive sculpture "Spiritual Wonder."
This collaborative evening of music, dance, architecture and art, expanded patrons' ideas about what museums are, where art making happens and how art is viewed. Visitors explored all areas of the museum as they traveled to events located inside and outside the museum while engaging with performers and the interactive sculpture.
The Nordic Digital Excellence in Museums 2014 Conference is part of the Nordic Digital Excellence in Museums Nordic Digital Excellence in Museums conference series under the stewardship of Digital Heritage Center, Sweden.