Commentary
Artainment and ‘after dark’
While not always incorporating a food and beverage element, many of the new immersive gallery and art exhibit installations have a private hire and 'after dark' element that venues are exploiting.
December 3, 2023 by Kevin Williams
Away from the pure entertainment game aspect of immersive experience, there is also the museum and art gallery "edutainment" or "artainment" approach found in a growing number of immersive gallery exhibits worldwide.
Recently, the London Science Museum revealed a new exhibition called "PowerUp," comprising retro videogames. The space is filled with arcade cabinets, computer games and some 160 classic consoles to play on, with the exhibition charting five decades of the history of the videogame and the influence that British developers have had on this journey.
Set up a selection of games to play, with a separate ticket price, £10 ($12.70) per day, this exhibition is also a permanent exhibit. The museum is even running "Gaming Late," an "after dark," adults-only evening session, the museum's approach to the "watch party" style after hours experience which can be a strong private revenue generator.
Games meet exhibits
This is the latest incarnation of the retro game exhibition, with a number of others seen across the museum and gallery scene, such as the London Barbican "GameOn" touring exhibition from 2002, which recently announced it would be returning to the venue in 2024. With its return, a new "after dark" element to the installation will be incorporated into the ticketing.
While not always incorporating a food and beverage element, many of the new "immersive gallery and art exhibit" installations have a private hire and "after dark" element that venues are exploiting.
Examples include the new attraction inspired by the BBC's "Seven Worlds One Planet" series, which will open in London. Called "BBC Earth Experience." The immersive experience offers visitors the chance to experience the world and the diversity of its seven continents on an epic scale. Described as a "360-degree audio-visual spectacle," the attraction combines footage and music from the beloved TV series with narration by Sir David Attenborough.
This is the latest of several such immersive installations including "watch parties" — holding live events in entertainment venues for groups to attend with food and beverage, such as seen with live F1 race at F1 Arcade sites.
The social entertainment focus of this sector also has an impact on the "artainment" scene, with the holding of "after dark" events. This is illustrated by the likes of Frameless in London, billed as "the ultimate immersive art experience," now starting its run of "Late at Frameless" evenings for over-18-year-olds.
We have also seen this with the Illuminarium immersive projection chain embracing the same opportunities seen in the cinema sector, including a music event to its mix. Several of the Illuminarium sites are holding "Taylor Vision'" viewing experiences in celebration of the musician's new album.
Illuminarium has recently added a new element to its immersive experience with "Illuminarium After Dark" themed movie nights. The first of these film theme nights was based round the "Twilight" movie franchise, with a special movie screening and supporting hospitality for the guests who reserved to attend.
This move is seen as turning the immersive venue into a glorified movie theater, with added immersive elements added to the themed experience. Based on the reaction to this first "after dark" screening, the company is planning to roll the concept out further.
For some observers, this was reminiscent of the themed movie nights and secret cinema offerings seen in the market; and a means to try and drive attendance to the chain of sites, following behind the recent screening of American football games ("Sport at Illuminarium") at the venues.
Mixed reality in the gallery
Another example of immersive gallery and art installations can be seen with the Pixel Artworks developed at Outernet London. This saw the first use of 8th Wall's WebAR platform with unreal animations to create an mixed reality experience.
The developers having created "The Butterfly Trail," a mixed reality experience with technology features that launched in September. Visitors travel through explorer Professor Peter Pelegrin's Botanical Workshop and into his glass house, where they can interact with the experience without the need for a special device, AR headset or downloaded mobile app, all achieved through a browser on their smartphone.
This is the latest immersive gallery installation to incorporate both an AR element and physical space.
Popup and life size
Building on the "after dark" element and underlining the investment in new competitive socializing trends and venues, we also see the appearance of popup businesses. Such as a new popup based on the travelling experience, "Pacman Lifesized Maze," which is set to open in Melbourne, Australia, for a year-long installation.
Throwing its doors open in March 2024, the Victoria shopping mall venue will be transformed into a mecca for all things Pac-Man, with the centerpiece being a life-size Pac-Man game, with physical maze and player ghosts, with one player taking on the role of the power-pill-chomper.
Licensed from Bandai Namco, the life-size maze concept is based on the 2015 Bud Light Superbowl promotion called "Coin." The life-size immersive experience has already popped up in Los Angeles and is now travelling to Melbourne, organized by Hidden. This life-size immersive experience is emulating what has also been seen in a permanent incarnation, with "Monopoly Lifesized" from Hasbro.
Today's immersive technologies are clearly leading audiences in myriad directions.
(Editor's note: Extracts from this blog are from recent coverage in The Stinger Report, published in collaboration with the LBX Collective and publisher, Kevin Williams, the leading interactive out-of-home entertainment news service covering the immersive frontier and beyond.)
About Kevin Williams
Along with advisory positions with other entrants into the market he is founder and publisher of the Stinger Report, “a-must-read” e-zine for those working or investing in the amusement, attractions and entertainment industry. He is a prolific writer and provides regular news columns for main trade publications. He also travels the globe as a keynote speaker, moderator and panelist at numerous industry conferences and events. Author of “The Out-of-Home Immersive Entertainment Frontier: Expanding Interactive Boundaries in Leisure Facilities,” the only book on this aspect of the market, with the second edition scheduled for a 2023 release.
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