Museums and Technologies of Presence

In view of the ever-increasing use of interactive and emerging technologies in museum spaces, Museums and Technologies of Presence rethinks the role of such technologies as potential facilitators of presence and as vehicles for offering new, immersive, and embodied visitor experiences.

This edited collection presents theoretical approaches and case studies that explore how presence can be experienced in museum spaces and what role technology can play in visitor experiences. It considers the theoretical underpinnings of the concept ‘presence’ for museum spaces, offering a critical examination of how immersive and other emerging technologies can affect, diminish or enhance our sense of presence and embodiment. Through an international range of case studies and innovative projects, this volume considers emerging technologies – including virtual reality, augmented reality, interactive (multisensory) installations, and AI – alongside different aspects of presence, including immersion, embodiment, empathy, emotion, engagement, and affect.

Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Museums and Technologies of Presence will be beneficial to those researching or studying in the fields of Museum Studies, Digital Humanities, Computer Science, Information Science, and Digital Media. It will also be useful to museologists, curators, and artists who are interested in developing immersive experiences, experimental new media, and immersive aesthetics.

Maria Shehade is a Senior Research Associate at the Museum Lab of the CYENS Centre of Excellence and an Adjunct Lecturer at the Cyprus University of Technology, with an interest in museum studies, cultural heritage management and policy, and cultural diplomacy. She is the co-author of Greek Cultural Diplomacy: Current Approaches – Future Challenges (2021).

Theopisti Stylianou-Lambert is a researcher and artist with an interest in museum studies, photography, visual sociology, and new technologies. She is an Associate Professor at the Cyprus University of Technology and the leader of the 'Museum Lab' at CYENS Centre of Excellence. She is the editor of Museums and Emerging Technologies: Mediating Difficult Heritage (2022) and the author of The Political Museum (2016).