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Parisian Museums Use AI, Immersive Tech to Lure Young Audience

Visitors at the Orsay museum in Paris. AFP
Visitors at the Orsay museum in Paris. AFP
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Parisian Museums Use AI, Immersive Tech to Lure Young Audience

Visitors at the Orsay museum in Paris. AFP
Visitors at the Orsay museum in Paris. AFP

Museums in Paris are deploying artificial intelligence (AI) and immersive experiences to lure the younger audience but without ditching the traditional museum tour.

“It’s the language of the new generations... those who were born in the digital age and see a deficiency in every hall that lacks modern technology,” Chloé Siganos, head of live entertainment at the Pompidou Center, a prominent museum of modern art and a leading cultural destination of modern technologies, told AFP.

While some private cultural centers, such as l'Atelier des Lumières, specialize in modern technologies and prioritize developing their digital exhibitions around the world, modern techs aren’t as common in official institutions.

The Louvres started a limited use of modern technologies in 2019, using virtual reality (VR) to make Leonardo Da Vinci speak about many of his works, including the Mona Liza. Since October, the visitors of the world’s largest museum have become able to explore some ancient Egyptian antiquities using their smartphones and augmented reality (AR).

Using an AR headset, the Pompidou Center raised awareness last year in France and the world about the story of civil right activist Claudette Colvin, the first US black woman who refused to waive her bus seat for a white person, before Rosa Parks.

Her story was told through holograms that embodied people from her life in Alabama in the 1950s.

Hugo Danthez, from HoloForge Interactive, explained how his company used AR to “rediscover the Villa Masséna Casine in Nice, Maison Poincaré of mathematics in Paris, and the Christian-Ethiopian Lalibela site enlisted on the UNESCO World Heritage List.” Danthez believes that this technology is “not completely separated from reality,” hoping to use it one day in Versailles.

Today, we say “before and after ChatGPT,” Marion Carré, president and co-founder of ‘Ask Mona’, a startup specialized in cultural AI, told AFP.

“The company developed the first audio guide that provides direct answers to visitors’ queries. It is currently being used at Quebec’s National Museum of Fine Arts,” she said.

“Immersive experiences and new technologies do not replace the traditional observation of the artwork. Yet, it helps boosting the museum experience and luring a new audience,” said Valentin Schmite, director-general of ‘Ask Mona’, which provides magnets that allow the user to communicate (using text or voice commands) with around 30 historic figures after scanning a QR code on their smartphone.

According to Schmite, “this simple and replicable content” has been adopted since 2017 by around 200 museums around the world, including the Louvres, Pompidou Center and Rome’s Colosseum.

At the d'Orsay Museum, which installed a significant number of devices for an exhibition about Vincent Van Gogh, the focus is on one objective, “examining every immersive experience,” and “respecting the museum’s financial stability.”

The museum plans to repeat the project in March, with a 45-minute immersive experience using VR headsets for its first impressionist exhibition.

In the Netherlands, the Hilversum Media Museum followed suit, using facial recognition to offer a customized experience that allows every visitor to establish their own profile.

“After their photo is taken, the visitor shall provide their email address, birthday and preferences, to enjoy a visit that is specially curated for them on their smartphone,” said Karen Drost, director of the museum.

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Culture

Venice Mayor Proposes Dynamic Pricing for Day-Trippers with 50-Euro Ceiling

Stewards check tourists QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, on April 25, 2024. (AP)
Stewards check tourists QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, on April 25, 2024. (AP)
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Venice Mayor Proposes Dynamic Pricing for Day-Trippers with 50-Euro Ceiling

Stewards check tourists QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, on April 25, 2024. (AP)
Stewards check tourists QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, on April 25, 2024. (AP)

Venice’s new mayor is proposing a dynamic pricing system for the city’s three-year-old day-tripper access fee, seeking government approval to raise the charge to as much as 50 euros ($59) on the busiest days to ease overcrowding in the UNESCO world heritage city.

Mayor Simone Venturini told The Associated Press in an interview Friday that the current 10-euro fee for last-minute reservations has not done enough to discourage visitors on peak days. Instead of imposing a fixed higher fee, the city wants to enact a form of surge-pricing, allowing the charge to rise with demand on the busiest days.

Venturini said the system would both discourage overcrowding and help cover the costs of maintaining the city.

“We spend 100 million euros a year just to maintain Venice physically, and nobody gives us that money. Not Europe. Not the Italian state. International critics don’t pay it either. It’s paid by the people of Venice, and in part through tourism taxes,” said Venturini, who was elected mayor last month after serving as the city’s top tourism official when the day-tripper tax was launched in 2024.

The access fee itself has been widely criticized by activists, housing advocates and opposition politicians for not doing enough to ease crowding in the city, while reducing Venice to a tourist attraction by charging admission. They also say the focus is too much on managing tourist flows, and not enough on bringing more residents back to the historic part of the city.

Venturini said the money is necessary to clean and maintain the city. The proposal for a surge-pricing structure would require an amendment to Italy’s special law governing Venice, and Venturini said he had already discussed the idea with the tourism minister.

“Day-trippers obviously generate waste — they eat, they drink, they throw things away. That comes at a huge cost,” which he said are driven up “because everything has to be done by hand, with brooms, boats and handcarts.”

While the 50-euro price proposal has made headlines and drawn criticism for being prohibitive for many visitors, particularly families, Venturini said the amount was chosen as an upper limit, giving the city room to experiment with different pricing levels. He said they are still working with researchers to determine the right threshold.

“If, for example, more than 40,000 people had already booked for a given day, those above that threshold might be asked to pay a little more—20, 25 or 30 euros,” Venturini said. “We asked for a broad range, up to 50 euros, and then it would be up to the city to manage the system through further testing. It doesn’t mean everyone who comes to Venice would pay 50 euros.”

While opposition politicians have proposed putting a cap on the number of visitors a day, Venturini said current Italian law does not allow that.

The number of residents of Venice’s canaled historic center has dropped to below 48,000 — while the number of tourist beds has risen to more than 51,500, according to the most recent figures tracked by the Ocio housing advocacy group from January.

Venturini argued that the city’s population is understated because many students and seasonal workers spend most of the year in Venice without registering as residents.

“That doesn’t mean we are satisfied. We need to do more,” he said.

Venice collected 2.4 million euros on 29 peak days from more than 485,000 day-trippers during the test phase in 2024. That rose to 5.4 million euros last year after Venice increased the number of days to 54 and doubled the fee to 10 euros for last-minute registrations on the city platform. This year, an additional six days have been added, but no figures have yet been released on arrivals or revenues.

Venturini said the money collected covers “only a small part of the costs of managing tourism.”

“The goal is not to raise money or to turn Venice into a ticketed city,” he said. “The goal is to give both residents and visitors a better experience on days when the city would otherwise be too crowded.”

Culture

Historic Jeddah’s Red Sea Museum Showcases Rare Manuscripts from Ancient Hajj Sea Voyages

Other key exhibits include diverse religious artifacts, works on the Prophet’s biography, and poems of praise - SPA
Other key exhibits include diverse religious artifacts, works on the Prophet’s biography, and poems of praise - SPA
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Historic Jeddah’s Red Sea Museum Showcases Rare Manuscripts from Ancient Hajj Sea Voyages

Other key exhibits include diverse religious artifacts, works on the Prophet’s biography, and poems of praise - SPA
Other key exhibits include diverse religious artifacts, works on the Prophet’s biography, and poems of praise - SPA

The Red Sea Museum in Historic Jeddah stands as a prominent testament to the historic relationship linking the Red Sea to maritime Hajj pilgrimages across the centuries.

Through a specialized pavilion, the museum displays a rare collection of illuminated copies of the Holy Quran, Islamic books, historical manuscripts, and maps that once accompanied pilgrims on their sea voyages to Makkah.

The pavilion features illuminated copies of the Holy Quran dating back to various historical periods, including 17th-century Chinese manuscripts, 19th-century Kashmiri texts, and a small Ottoman Quran copy. Each piece is distinguished by intricate gold decorations, artistic calligraphy, and exquisite binding, showcasing the high level of precision achieved in the historical art of copying Quranic manuscripts, SPA reported.

Other key exhibits include diverse religious artifacts, works on the Prophet’s biography, and poems of praise. A standout feature is a landmark manuscript from 1506 CE documenting scenes from the Two Holy Mosques, which remains one of the most prominent historical works detailing Hajj.

By highlighting the historical care given to the Holy Quran, including the evolution of calligraphy, ornamentation, and bookbinding, the pavilion offers a deeply enriched cultural experience for visitors. It documents the spiritual and human journey of millions of pilgrims, serving as an enduring record of faith and heritage along one of the world's most significant historical routes.

Culture

Visitors Flock to Hira Cultural District for Immersive Islamic Heritage Experiences

The district is among the key projects highlighting Makkah's cultural and civilizational dimension in line with Saudi Vision 2030 - SPA
The district is among the key projects highlighting Makkah's cultural and civilizational dimension in line with Saudi Vision 2030 - SPA
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Visitors Flock to Hira Cultural District for Immersive Islamic Heritage Experiences

The district is among the key projects highlighting Makkah's cultural and civilizational dimension in line with Saudi Vision 2030 - SPA
The district is among the key projects highlighting Makkah's cultural and civilizational dimension in line with Saudi Vision 2030 - SPA

The Hira Cultural District in Makkah is witnessing a growing influx of domestic and international visitors with the start of the summer vacation, cementing its status as one of the Holy Capital's most prominent cultural and educational destinations.

Located at the foot of Mount Hira, home to Hira Cave, where revelation first descended upon Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the district offers educational content through modern interactive technologies that blend authenticity with innovation, SPA reported.

The Revelation Exhibition, the district's most prominent component, documents the story of the first revelation through visual and audio presentations. The district also houses the Holy Quran Museum, which displays rare Quranic manuscripts and traces the stages of writing and developing the Holy Quran across Islamic eras.

Supporting facilities include open squares, restaurants, cafés, shops, and visitor reception areas, providing a suitable environment for families and visitors of all nationalities.

The district is among the key projects highlighting Makkah's cultural and civilizational dimension in line with Saudi Vision 2030's objectives to develop the cultural and tourism sectors and showcase Islamic heritage.