The Vienna Museumsquartier (MQ) now offers an "augmented reality experience" including curated music. A new smartphone app wants to "rediscover cultural habitats through innovative technologies". Short clips provide insights into the respective cultural institutions, accompanied by curated music. "An experience for all senses," enthused MQ director Christian Strasser.
Depending on which of the eight participating MQ institutions the visitors point their mobile phones or tablets at, a different audio-visual programme will be launched. "The great thing is that not only is cheap advertising going on, but each institution has really come up with something new," Strasser affirmed and gave the team of the developers, a few words of encouragement: "What they are doing is world-class!
The music for the "Augmented Reality Experience" was curated by Andreas Vierziger, who rummaged through the archives of the mdw - Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts, the KUG - Graz University of Art and Design, the Salzburg Mozarteum University and the Vienna TONSPUR Art Association.
The final movement of Joseph Haydn's "Reiterquartett" was selected for the Halle E+G, the former Winter Riding Hall, for example, a timbre piece by Joanna Wozny for the mumok, and the percussive fifth of seven sound spaces by Georg Friedrich Haas was assigned to the Vienna Tanzquartier (Dance Quarter) because of its "strong physicality".
The initiative "That's How Austria Sounds" is also part of the tourism advertisers' considerations as to what post-Corona tourism will look like, explained Petra Stolba, managing director of the Austrian tourism board. "There will be upheavals everywhere. One thing is certain: people will travel more consciously." The Vienna Museumsquartier is only the beginning, the federal provinces are to follow. "This is a project that will be developed continuously." There is no timetable and no precise plans for the next locations yet.
For the time being, there are twelve locations (such as posters of the institutions) in the Museumsquartier where - after downloading the free app via artivive.com - you can get a taste of the interactive project. "Give it a try," Christian Strasser called for and found great optimism in his cultural area. On September 1, the MQ Dragonfly will finally take off on the roof of the Leopold Museum. A flight of fancy, which hopefully will be spared a new shutdown.