Alistair Hardaker | Image: Visitors experiencing 'In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats' (Birmingham Museums Trust)
Birmingham Museums VR project with UK Shared Prosperity Fund, sees it partner with MBD on immersive experiences and skills programme.
Birmingham Museums Trust has installed virtual reality equipment as part of a new digital arts programme responding to citizens’ jury feedback about museum engagement.
The project, which the trust has nicknamed Electric Museum, is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and centres on immersive technology as a method for heritage storytelling and digital skills development. The trust has installed 6-Degrees of Freedom and 3-Degrees of Freedom Pico headsets in a dedicated space.
The initiative follows citizens’ jury work in which Birmingham residents indicated they wanted museums to be more engaging, current and connected to their lives.
Kingston Myles, director of enterprise and innovation at Birmingham Museums Trust, said one participant’s comment shaped the project’s direction: “Make it something we can experience, not just look at.”
The trust is partnering with MBD, an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation that specialises in immersive storytelling. According to MBD’s data, audiences rate well-executed immersive experiences highly, though specific figures were not provided.
The programme comprises three elements: shared immersive experiences for groups, engagement activities using immersive work for learning and discussion, and skills development providing access to tools and training. The model combines ticketed experiences with funded engagement activity.
Arts Council England formally recognised Digital Arts as a national artform in 2024, the first new discipline introduced in decades. Myles stated this recognition reflects a sector-wide shift in how cultural content is created and experienced.
The trust previously hosted immersive VR experience In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats in 2024, created by East City Films. Myles said this generated demand from both content creators and visitors for additional programming.
A citizens’ jury participant stated: “It should feel like it belongs to Birmingham, not just the museum.”
The space features motion tracking graphics inspired by friezes in the gallery above. An upper balcony allows visitors to observe VR playback, with additional content planned exploring the technology’s development.
Programming and content sourcing will follow now that infrastructure is installed. Myles said the organisation will operate under the principle “Good enough for now, safe enough to try” as the project develops.
