Costantino D’Orazio
In its etymology, the term inclusion carries with itself the act of welcoming: a vitally important meaning for cultural institutions.
In 1992, Adalgisa Lugli wrote that the threshold one crosses [in the museum] is a border. What lies beyond is a particular kind of world. Foucault had already intuited that the museum, together places like the library or the theater, can be understood as a different space where timeless rules and credentials are in force, a typical heterotopia of 19th-century Western culture. For this reason, the museum requires a transition.
Over the years, there have been numerous reflections on accessibility in and of cultural institutions: too often, the focus has been on people with disabilities, forgetting that a truly accessible museum is one that does not have distinctive plans, but rather inclusive ones.
Furthermore, it has always been thought that to share art it was necessary to make the language of professionals understandable without ever considering that viewers are, first and foremost, human beings.
The focus on the humanity of the visitor fits well with the added value of art history, particularly contemporary art: its ability to evoke an emotional and experiential reading.
In my 2020 book (Art in Six Emotions), I invited readers to discover how artists represented emotions.
On the contrary, during my tenure as Director of the National Museums of Perugia – Regional Directorate of the National Museums of Umbria, I invited visitors to tell art how they felt after crossing the threshold of the museum.
The collection of the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria was the perfect setting for experimenting with this idea: the exhibition begins between the 13th and 14th centuries, amidst the magnificence of Benedetto Bonfigli’s frescoes in the Cappella dei Priori and Duccio di Buoninsegna’s Madonna and Child. It continues with the late Gothic art of Perugia by Gentile da Fabriano and advances to masterpieces by Renaissance artists such as Fra Angelico, Benozzo Gozzoli, and Piero della Francesca.
The rooms and loggias narrate the spaces and stories that have shaped Perugia’s reputation as a benchmark for Italian artistic heritage. The enchanting monographic rooms dedicated to Pinturicchio and the master Perugino are a main example.
The final section of the collection showcases the finest art in Umbria between the 17th and 20th centuries: among others, artists such as Orazio Gentileschi, Valentin de Boulogne, Pietro da Cortona, Sassoferrato, Francesco Trevisani, Gerardo Dottori, Alberto Burri, and Enzo Rossi speak here.
A treasure chest within the museum called the Camera Oscura explores, through monographic exhibitions dedicated to photography, the common thread linking the art of the past to our present in a continuum of diverse languages and techniques.
This multifaceted nature of the museum, therefore, allowed for the design and creation of an inclusive tool that takes into account first and foremost visitors’ emotions.
AIfeelGNU, a progressive web app designed to transform the museum experience into a personalized journey, was born thanks to the PNRR funding “Removal of physical and cognitive barriers in museums, libraries and archives”, implemented by the National Museums of Umbria, coordinated by the structure delegated to implement the investment within the General Directorate of Museums of the Ministry of Culture, within the framework of the communication, use, valorization, accessibility and participation project for improving the quality of the offerings and services of the National Gallery of Umbria.
Starting from the emotional mapping of the museum’s exhibits and using generative artificial intelligence, AIfeelGNU creates tailored made tour itineraries that take into account the visitor’s age, available time, and, above all, the emotional state. Once the visitors log in to the app on their mobile phone, they are greeted by the question “How are you?” and led through an emotional journey created by AI, featuring faces, characters, landscapes, colors, stories, and details of the museum’s artworks. Continuous interaction is planned between the visitor and their virtual guide, Pietro, who answers questions and prompts. The language used and the selected content enhance the visitor’s emotional experience, even changing their initial state of mind. AIfeelGNU, accessible on smartphones, offers visitors a unique tour experience, focused on the emotional aspects of artworks, with accessible and engaging content.
The App was developed by the TuoMuseo team in collaboration with the staff of the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria. The tool was developed following a co-design process with local trade associations, which, through technical discussions, expressed the needs of stakeholders.
Particularly, a specific attention was paid to patients at the Santa Maria della Misericordia hospital in Perugia, who were able to test the app in advance. The initiative aims to provide interactive and participatory access to the Gallery’s collection for those unable to physically visit it.
The resulting impact was surprising, since when visitors started to interact with the artworks and their details through positive emotions and curiosity. This revealed a potential that had not initially been considered. Beyond the presentation of the GNU collection, the app becomes a window to the outside world for people whose interaction with the outside world is limited, shifting the concept of threshold and passage to elsewhere.