Via Artnet News, 18 October 2023
By Jo Lawson-Tancred
A new app offering museum visitors a digitally enhanced experience with A.I.-generated recommendations has been launched in the Italian city of Turin. I-MUSE aims to house a mix of partner museums in one virtual space so that when a user shows an interest in one object, they are offered suggestions about similar objects or exhibition at other institutions. The app’s aim is to engage new audiences and boost footfall at museums.
The recommendations made by the A.I. could depend on various characteristics such as style, period, movement, or subject. For example, if a user is particularly interested in Renoir’s La Baigneuse Blonde (1882) at the Pinacoteca Agnelli, the app might suggest they go see Portrait of a Lady (1889) by Giovanni Boldini, which is at the Galeria d’Arte Moderna (GAM) collections, a 20-minute drive across the city.
“The point is to give visitors extra information that might not be easy to find otherwise,” said Giovanni Mastrobuoni, one of the principal investigators responsible for the project. “Individual museums don’t have an interest in sharing what else individuals might like that is not based in their own building. So the novelty is that we generate these positive spillovers towards other museums.”
