Museum Digital Initiatives during the Coronavirus Pandemic

In “Museum Digital Initiatives during the Coronavirus Pandemic,” museology scholar Chiara Zuanni and her team at University of Graz in Austria document museum efforts to provide digital access during the pandemic. Zuanni’s study of digital museum initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights how museums, like other institutions, turned to digital platforms to tell stories of the crisis, reshaping the ways in which history, culture, and collective memory were preserved and shared during widespread disruption.

Zuanni collected data from museums across Europe, which they compiled into an interactive map with eight categories: contemporary collecting, social media, streaming content, virtual tours, online exhibitions, games, and educational content. They developed this project to understand the pandemic’s impact on the museum industry and how museums adapted to widespread closures.

The project identifies key issues in the use of digital platforms, including inequality and centralization. While at least four out of five European museums transitioned to online content, similar institutions in the developing world remain underrepresented. Furthermore, unequal access to technology and internet connections poses challenges, particularly in less-developed regions. Centralization is another concern. Zuanni notes that efforts to create a central directory of museum content were hindered by the fact that many museums opted for less robust and sustainable solutions to quickly transition online. Through this project, Zuanni provides a cross-cultural perspective on how museums responded to the pandemic, while highlighting critical concerns that must be addressed to build an accessible and sustainable digital infrastructure.