We live in an increasingly digitalised and interactive world. Across the arts sector, exhibitions are being enhanced by a range of technologies from Virtual Reality (VR) to elaborate audio-visual experiences. However, what impact can this have on fundraising? Are immersive art experiences revolutionising the fundraising landscape and can we say goodbye to the written case for support?
What are immersive art experiences?
Many immersive experiences employ forms of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). But what’s the difference?
How to know your augmented from your virtual
Unlike VR, AR enhances a real-world setting. A user controls their presence in the real world, such as walking between rooms in an art gallery, and uses AR to complement their experience.
AR is commonly utilised through an app or website. The National Gallery’s Keeper of Paintings demonstrates this, with users following a story in the app to move through the gallery, scanning artworks that reveal clues, puzzles and questions. Designed for children but engaging for all ages, the app turns observers and visitors into clue-finders and explorers.
AR can also utilise touch, like in Exeter Library’s EnchanTales, or sound – seen in the ‘Echo Horn’ at Bodiam Castle.
On the other hand, Virtual Reality (VR) requires a headset – although a smartphone and Google Cardboardwill suffice – and immerses the user into another world entirely.
Like AR, VR is a powerful tool for the arts sector, whether it be through a Curious Game of Croquet in the Alice in Wonderland exhibition at the V&A, or the opportunity to go Beyond the Glass of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. Through VR’s total immersion, both experiences transport visitors into another dimension before returning them to gallery. VR can also effectively draw attention to a mission or project, allowing individuals to engage with a cause irrespective of their location. Alzheimer’s Research UK, for example, developed a VR app to help individuals understand dementia and the psychological and emotional challenges of everyday life for those affected.
Audio-visual experiences
Immersive experiences do not need to rely on AR or VR. Many exhibitions, like Van Gogh London, transform visitor experience through light, sound and touch. Visitors are placed within the paintings themselves, exploring them as they move around the exhibition. Meow Wolf go even further, making interactivity a core component of their art. They specialise in interactive art experiences, combining stories of interstellar travel with inventive soundscapes and interactive objects to transport the visitor into another realm.
What does this mean for fundraising?
Several studies, predominantly focused on VR, have found that stories conveyed by immersive technology illicit heightened emotional responses within viewers, in comparison to via 2D screens (computers, phones, etc.). VR, dubbed ‘empathy machines’ by Li and Qiu (2023), more effectively connects the viewer with the story or character. Gugenishvili et al (2023), examining emotional responses to stories of war-induced tragedy,reported that ‘users feel more empathetic towards the protagonist in a VR story (in our case the victim of war) …compared to a desktop computer’. A study by Radu et al (2021), on increasing empathy for children amongst adults, reached a similar conclusion, noting that ‘increased positive caregiver attitudes towards struggling readers’ were found amongst those who engaged with the material via VR. This ability to provoke greater emotional responses offers huge possibilities to the arts sector. Storytelling and emotionally connecting with a donor are commonly accepted as central to successful fundraising campaigns. These studies show that immersive technologies can help us do this more effectively and consistently.
Whether it be a trust, foundation, business, or individual, potential donors want to see what impact their money will have. Using these immersive experiences proves to a donor that your exhibition or project has the power to engage and inspire. Indeed, an investigation by Axios in 2021 found investors are already pouring millions of pounds into immersive gallery and museum experiences, because of their ability to connect with and attract audiences.
Immersive technology’s ability to engage audiences more effectively is thus an exciting prospect for organisations looking to raise funds and garner support. For museums and galleries, adding an AR point at the exit of an exhibition which details the importance of public donations to the survival of the gallery, could open new possibilities for on-site fundraising. From simply scanning a QR code to fashioning your own ‘Echo Horn’, this technology is accessible for organisations of any size and, when used alongside innovative uses of contactless payment – like Blue Cross’ team of ‘Tap Dogs’ – can effectively convey the importance of public support and offer novel ways of immediately donating.
Even if your organisation doesn’t have a physical space, immersive experiences can spur people to support your cause. Using AR apps to spread your message or VR programmes to engage your audience, will help capture attention. Virtual reality also allows organisations to take their story to the funder.
So, is it goodbye to the written case for support?
Not quite. Whilst digital cases for support are on the rise – research from Enthuse shows that 34% of charities are using TikTok and other video platforms, with VR and AR just another tool in this digital arsenal – this should not come at the expense of tried and tested fundraising techniques.
Why? Because, whilst Sooter and Ugazio (2023) found a correlation between the increased emotional response provoked by VR and an ‘increase in incentivised donations and a larger reported propensity to become regular donors’, not all studies reached the same conclusion. Gugenishvili et al (2023) and Radu et al (2021) concluded that, although VR undoubtedly provoked more emotional responses in viewers, this did not consistently translate into more or larger donations. A blended approach of digital and written material is needed until more light can be shed on this negative correlation. Indeed, it may be that it is still the fundraiser that determines whether a donation is made, rather than the technological tools that they use to tell their story. Therefore, whilst the arts sector should harness immersive technology in imaginative ways, we should remind ourselves that it is a tool and not a panacea.