The Pink Cube: Exploring Aesthetic Art Experience and Play in Instagram Museums

This research discusses an in-depth analysis of the novel entertainment-based institutions coined as Instagram Museums, in terms of the aesthetic art experiences and play driven interactions that they provide. By differentiating between two distinct types of Instagram Museums, the gallery-like and the museum-like, the analysis is led through two case studies, the Museum of Ice Cream and the Museum Voorlinden. While these institutions have a strong social media component shaping their exhibitions, they use separate business models based on the contrasting cultural status retained. Most importantly this includes original approaches to the experience obtained within the space by growing visitor engagement both through the aesthetic appeal and the participatory nature of the exhibits. Instagram Museums aim to provide entertaining experiences that can be beautifully captured with a phone and become Instagram bait, bringing in increasingly more visitors. In doing so, the spaces feature...Show moreThis research discusses an in-depth analysis of the novel entertainment-based institutions coined as Instagram Museums, in terms of the aesthetic art experiences and play driven interactions that they provide. By differentiating between two distinct types of Instagram Museums, the gallery-like and the museum-like, the analysis is led through two case studies, the Museum of Ice Cream and the Museum Voorlinden. While these institutions have a strong social media component shaping their exhibitions, they use separate business models based on the contrasting cultural status retained. Most importantly this includes original approaches to the experience obtained within the space by growing visitor engagement both through the aesthetic appeal and the participatory nature of the exhibits. Instagram Museums aim to provide entertaining experiences that can be beautifully captured with a phone and become Instagram bait, bringing in increasingly more visitors. In doing so, the spaces feature installations that offer high levels of immersion and interactivity, turning the often passive engagement encountered in traditional museums into veritable acts of play. By bringing in some online conducted interviews alongside the theoretical analysis of the topics, this thesis argues for the reconfiguration of the (traditional) museum experience through the construction of more aesthetically appealing interactive encounters.Show less

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The Pink Cube: Exploring Aesthetic Art Experience and Play in Instagram Museums