Curating XR Experiences in the Age of Digital Heritage: Challenges and Opportunities

Description

The use of digital technologies, namely Extended Reality (XR) tools such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), has had a fundamental impact on visitor engagement in museums and heritage sites. Research shows that XR can help visitors learn and increase their engagement with cultural spaces through immersive, multisensorial environments. That said, the use of XR in the cultural heritage domain remains relatively new, and its underpinning technologies continue to evolve rapidly. As a result, a wealth of challenges arises, including high associated costs, issues with technological reliability, long-term maintenance requirements, and a significant tension between innovation and authenticity. This research looks at how cultural heritage experiences and these new digital technologies interact during their design and curation. The study employs qualitative interviews with practitioners across China, Europe, and North America to understand how cultural heritage XR projects are ideated, developed, and implemented, the difficulties that currently arise along the way, and some of the solutions that could benefit a wider successful application of XR in the cultural heritage field. The findings of the research highlight challenges and benefits in five key areas: visitor experience and engagement, financing and longevity, communication and collaboration, authenticity and storytelling, and inclusivity and ethics. These reflections aim to inform how to design and curate future digital heritage experiences as XR technologies continue to evolve. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of heritage XR curatorial practices and offers practitioners a range of perspectives from various cultural and professional backgrounds.

Period	26 Apr 2025
Event title	Symposium on Heritage in the Digital Age
Event type	Conference
Location	Shanghai, ChinaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International