At the start of the pandemic, academic museums everywhere scrambled to find workable solutions to move their spaces, events, and interactions with students to an online capacity. Everyone was trying different platforms, some with great success, and some, not so much. AAMG asked our community to share their findings on the trials, tribulations, and successes of their different tactics through a short survey on virtual tour platforms. Below are the responses from those institutions willing to share what they figured out along the way.
If you found a solution in another format, please share with our community by filling out this survey. Additionally, check out the online exhibitions and tours from the community members below by visiting this page.
For the table below, scroll to the right once your mouse is over the table.
| College / University name | Gallery / Museum name | What kind of virtual tour software are you using? | What is the name of the software? | Rate your satisfaction with the software you are using on a scale of 1 to 5 | Finally, please share any other comments you might have about virtual exhibits. |
| Texas Christian University | The Art Galleries at TCU | Proprietary (paid) | Matterport | 4 | We also have a video exhibition tour with our director, Sara-Jayne Parsons, and the artist, Raphaël Barontini, on our YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7JytNNUgCM&feature=youtu.be |
| University of West Florida | Pensacola Museum of Art | Open Source (free) | 4 | ||
| Michigan State University | Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum | Proprietary (paid) | Matterport presented by Able Eyes | 5 | This virtual tour focuses on the architecture of our Zaha Hadid-designed building. |
| University of Chicago | Oriental Institute | Proprietary (paid) | Google Arts & Culture | 3 | |
| University of West Florida | UWF Historic Trust | Open Source (free) | Google Tour Creator | 4 | This was a project that I started exploring Day 1 of being closed to the public. I started with the Pensacola Museum of Art, as we had opened two new exhibits there right as we were shutting down. The initial drafts of the tours were well received, and initiated the project’s immediate growth. In the past month, I’ve completed 6 tours for the PMA and Historic Pensacola. They can all be found at https://poly.google.com/u/1/user/dGDoHkFn5BR. Importantly, Tour Creator allowed us to insert some limited interpretation in addition to the panoramic images. We are excited to see how these can be used with Google Cardboard and Google Expeditions. We have embedded them in our websites, and they read much better integrated into an exhibition page. https://www.pensacolamuseum.org/blessyourheart.html https://www.pensacolamuseum.org/members2020.html https://www.pensacolamuseum.org/steam2020.html http://historicpensacola.org/plan-your-visit/exhibits/virtual-exhibit-tours/ |
| Mountain View College | Cliff Gallery | Open Source (free) | Youtube | 4 | During this time, it is a means of utilizing the web to keep art, exhibitions, and collections in the forefront of society and culture when we are unable to gather together to view in person. |
| University of Georgia | Georgia Museum of Art | Proprietary (paid) | iMove and proprietary audio assets used with permission | 4 | The current circumstance has provided some patrons with more opportunity to digest the material via our virtual tour that they may have overlooked on a past in-person visit to the same exhibition. |
| University of Vermont | Fleming Museum of Art | Open Source (free) | Combo of both: Google Street View, plus Thinglink paid educational account – though that cost was taken on by a colleague, as ours is a statewide collaborative project, Vermont Art Online | 3 | Again: ours is a statewide collaborative project, Vermont Art Online, led by our colleagues at the Middlebury College Museum of Art. We will be sharing tutorials we developed through this process with the AAMG listserv soon. |
| College of Charleston | Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art | Proprietary (paid) | Art360 / Matterport / Orangenius | 4 | We received a grant to pay for this virtual exhibition and one other from the Tremaine Foundation |
| College of Charleston | Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art | Proprietary (paid) | Art360 / Matterport / Orangenius | 4 | We received a grant to pay for this virtual exhibition and one other from the Tremaine Foundation |
| Middlebury College | Vermont Art Online (state-wide, but the creators are at the Middlebury College Museum of Art) | Open Source (free) | Thinglink (free accounts available but ours is paid), Google Street View App (free) | 5 | Tutorials for creating your own tours using Google Street View and Thinglink are available for download under the “Art at Home” section of the site. We also created a video tutorial here: https://vimeo.com/400069000. Our individual emails are: Sarah Laursen <slaursen@middlebury.edu>, Sarah Briggs, Holden <sbriggs@middlebury.edu>. Read more here: https://www.rutlandherald.com/features/vermont_arts/building-vermont-art-online-virtual-tours-of-the-state-s-art-museums/article_eef671de-c39a-5e87-bed3-9f8dbe070dab.html |
| Norwich University | Sullivan Museum & History Center | Open Source (free) | Thinglink | 5 | |
| Saginaw Valley State University | Marshall Fredericks Sculpture Museum | Proprietary (paid) | Luna Tech | 5 | Take a break in your day and come to the Marshall Fredericks Sculpture Virtual Museum! Be transported to the Museum’s galleries with Marshall’s sculptures, his Sculptor’s Studio and two special exhibitions. |
| University of Minnesota | Goldstein Museum of Design | Proprietary (paid) | Not sure what software was used. GMD hired Visual, Inc. to create the two tours. http://www.visualisgood.com/ | 4 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeDNDKXxtN4&feature=youtu.be |
| Colorado State University | Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising | We’re still in the research phase | As a small staff, we were only just beginning to discuss concepts and software for eventual virtual exhibition development, before the pandemic converted CSU to an entirely virtual operation. So, the links shared here are truly just the best we could do – on the last afternoon we were permitted to be on campus and in the museum – to offer a simple virtual tour of the main Spring 2020 exhibit. Thank you! | ||
| California State University, San Bernardino | Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA) | We’re still in the research phase | We are using a combination…not really a “virtual” but on-line programs and tours. We are researching a possibility of a real virtual tour. See my comment at the bottom of this survey. | We are researching a possibility of producing a virtual tour of the current exhibitions to add it to raffma @ home 🏠🎨, but the access to the museum/university is very limited. Good luck, Everyone! | |
| Ohio University | Kennedy Museum of Art | Open Source (free) | Google Poly | 3 | |
| University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus | RUM ArtGallery | Open Source (free) | |||
| Denison University | Denison Museum | Open Source (free) | Google Tour Creator (poly) | 3 | I am interested in seeing a list of options, free or low cost. These need to be plug and play that could be done with limited staff and quick turn over. |
| Utah State University | Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art | Proprietary (paid) | Madderport | 5 | |
| Indiana University | Wylie House Museum | Proprietary (paid) | Matterport | 4 | Due to the COVID-19 closings, we went ahead and published our virtual tour before adding artifact tags/metadata. We are still in the process of doing that. The tour has been well-received and appreciated, and is being used by university classes that intended to visit in person. –Thanks. |
| University of New England | UNE Art Galleries | Proprietary (paid) | YouTube (UNE channel); WordPress (Library Services) | 3 | My virtual tours are a combination of a video tour, written material posted on the website and as slides in the videos, and as still images of installation shots and individual artworks. This material is supplemented by regular, focused Instagram posting. This is important to me, as I strive to support learning at UNE through remote outreach. It’s also helpful in the context of our regional arts community. For me, this is especially important as UNE has a strong medicine and sciences set of programs, so it is especially important to present a window into the UNE Art Galleries with their specific programming, to promote remote learning across a wide range of disciplines. Thank you! |
| University of Oregon | Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art | Proprietary (paid) | These are simple video walk-through tours created for a series called A Minute Exhibit, edited with Adobe Premiere. | 5 | “Virtual Tours” and “Virtual Exhibits” are not the same thing, at least to me. We are working on some virtual exhibits, which will be translations of upcoming exhibitions into formats that will work online, with additional materials, high-resolution images, and corollary material that often does not find its way into the gallery. We will be using this period of gallery closure as a way to experiment with new ways to present art remotely. In contrast, the virtual tours I am linking here are part of a series (A Minute Exhibit) of concise walk-through tours of our non-virtual galleries, a way to stay in touch with our audiences, and a way to help students in particular get a sense of the size and visceral impact of the art in our galleries, which they will otherwise see as disembodied static images on a computer or phone screen. To complement these short looks, we do offer high resolution visual files to faculty now teaching remotely. All of these are offered (with additions weekly) on a simple web portal for faculty (and anyone interested) which is at: https://jsma.uoregon.edu/RemoteTeachingResources A lot of other materials are there, too, including study guides, a long walk-through of one of our major current exhibitions, and links to our back catalogue of exhibition videos. Feel free to link to any of this. Thanks! John Weber Executive Director Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art University of Oregon cell 518 526-3506 |
| Florida Institute of Technology | Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts | Open Source (free) | Click360 | 3 | |
| Shippensburg University | Fashion Archives & Museum | I don’t know–marketing handled the video | This tour is of a real exhibit featuring clothing artifacts and paper ephemera from the 1810s through the 1980s. It opened at the end of January, and then we had to close over spring break. I don’t know when or if I will be able to reopen and extend the exhibit dates. | ||
| Valdosta State University | Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery | ||||
| California State University San Bernardino | Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art | Proprietary (paid) | Matterport | 5 | |
| New Mexico State University | University Art Museum | Open Source (free) | YouTube and WordPress | 4 | Please take this opportunity to view Labor: Motherhood & Art in 2020 in four video walk-throughs and installation galleries that fully explore the theme of Motherhood in each of the NMSU University Art Museum’s four new spaces: the Main Contemporary Gallery, the Bunny Conlon Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery, the Margie and Bobby Rankin Retablo Gallery and the Mullennix Bridge Gallery. To view the full viewing gallery please visit: https://uam.nmsu.edu/labor2020/ Labor: Motherhood & Art in 2020 opened on February 28, 2020 and is now extended through August 16, 2020. This exhibition, co-curated by museum director Marisa Sage and artist Laurel Nakadate, aims to expand and enrich the compelling conversations regarding motherhood in today’s socio-political climate. Through video, painting, installation, sculpture, film and photographic works, a diverse group of artists explore themes of empowerment, empathy, intimacy, selflessness, vulnerability, failure, anxiety, and choice. |
| University of Tennessee, Knoxville | McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture | Proprietary (paid) | Adobe Rush + some Adobe Premier | 3 | We are definitely trying to develop a better “call & response” method of creating virtual tours. These feel quite static still compared to leading tours in person. We hope to build in moments for actual introspection & question asking. |
| Indiana State University | University Art Gallery | Open Source (free) | Drupal | 1 | n/a |
| Towson University | Asian Arts & Culture Center | ||||
| Emerson College | Emerson Contemporary: Media Art Gallery | Open Source (free) | ArtSteps | 4 | My 400 level students created this digital version of an exhibition they curated that got postponed indefinitely due to the Covid 19 crisis as part of a curatorial studies course. |
| Amherst College | Mead Art Museum | Proprietary (paid) | Matterport | 4 | |
| Colorado State University | Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising | Open Source (free) | Youtube hosting site & Iphone video | 3 | |
| Georgetown University | Maria & Alberto de la Cruz Art Gallery | Proprietary (paid) | Kunstmatrix | 2 | We gave Kunstmatrix a low rating because although they were very helpful with getting us started and customizing our gallery, they have been unresponsive to our recent communications (about paying for this spring show and about working together in the future). |
| Colgate University | Picker Art Gallery | Proprietary (paid) | WP Bakery | 3 | |
| Fairfield University | Fairfield University Art Museum | Proprietary (paid) | Kunstmatrix | 4 | |
| Tufts University | Tufts University Art Galleries | Proprietary (paid) | Roundme | 4 | We worked with a vendor to create the tour — The Rendering Company – http://www.therenderingco.com/. The Roundme software that I listed is more of an online platform to host the tour. I do not know what software the company uses to actually create the virtual exhibition model that they then upload to Roundme. |
| San Francisco State University | The Global Museum | Open Source (free) | Our university website (Drupal); PowerPoint for PDF | 3 | |
| Bergen Community College | Gallery Bergen | Matterport | 3 | No one wants to be online longer than they have to be. The competition is profound. |