WeChat is Taking Museums to the Cloud

SAN FRANCISCO, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the outbreak of the pandemic, major museums, galleries and expositions across the United States have been forced to cancel events and close their doors. This has put a lot of pressure on the industry as a whole. Within this environment, WeChat has teamed up with 11 museums in the U.S. to create an innovative "Museum in the Cloud" experience, allowing would-be museum-goers to digitally visit participating museums from their homes.

The partnership is wholeheartedly supported by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM).

"We are very happy to support WeChat's initiative to help digitalize the museum experience, as it also connects to the American Alliance of Museum's vision of building 'A world informed and enriched by thriving museums,'" said Arthur Affleck, the Vice President of Development of AAM. "The museum Mini Programs will enable Chinese audiences to tour American museums remotely from across the ocean, and help in bringing the world closer together under this special timing."

These 11 museums are among the first partners to join WeChat's travel solutions initiative - WeChat go. The partner museums span the East and West Coasts of the U.S. and include the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Autry Museum of American West, Guggenheim, Museum of the City of New York, Brooklyn Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, Walt Disney Family Museum, Telfair Museums, Aquarium of the Pacific and Lowell Observatory. From modern to ancient arts, aquariums to observatories, the participating museums run the gamut of curated collections.

Aimed at Chinese visitors, the Mini Programs being launched by the museums offer free public resources such as guided audio tours, video materials, introductions of pieces in the collections and interactive games. It is hoped that these resources will help Chinese museum-goers better understand the collections and offer them a more engaging experience, while allowing them to strengthen cross-cultural understanding even during social distancing.

MoMA Shows Users the Cream of the Collection

The MoMA Mini Program developed by the New York Museum of Modern Art, offers Chinese language explanations and audio guides for some of the museum's finest pieces. Anna Temkin, MoMA's Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture, even takes it upon herself to relate precious works such as Van Gogh's Starry Night, Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and Monet's Water Lillies to digital visitors.