mARChive

mARChive is a 360-degree data browser project, developed in collaboration with Museums Victoria. It enables selection and analysis of collection items and their contextual information by physical rotation in an omnidirectional space through intimate encounters with items which can be ‘zoomed in’ and viewed at a larger-than-life scale. Further, it facilitates thematic exploration of single items as well as the exploration of comparative relationships between individual artefacts in different collections. Its impact is realised through: a) installation at Melbourne Museum, enabling its visitors to virtually explore 30,000 items from across 19 of its collections in AVIE3’s virtual space before entering the collection space itself; b) the development of the world’s first full-body museum data-browser allowing users to explore collections using immersive interactive navigational systems in virtual space; and c) the formulation of a new standard for the experience of physical and virtual museum collections in the 21st century.