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Institution: North Carolina State University

Title of entry: Gregg Museum Pivots to Virtual Exhibitions in time for COVID-19

About this entry: As part of a research-extensive land-grant university, NC State’s Gregg Museum of Art and Design inspires creativity, innovation, and the expression of ideas. The Gregg Museum makes its collections accessible to the university, community, and to the public. Donor engagement is critical to the success of their program. As the old saying goes "out of sight, out of mind."

The university had just returned for the spring semester when the coronavirus was designated as a global pandemic. In response to the virus, the university sent all students and employees home and the museum was forced to close for more than six months.

At the Gregg Museum, most exhibitions only remain for three to four months so that the museum can continue to attract students and visitors each semester. Even though the museum had spent months curating the exhibitions, not to mention the considerable financial investment, several of the exhibitions on display in early March would have to be dismantled and returned to their owners before the museum would reopen.

Luckily, the museum had just started experimenting with virtual reality. A few months earlier, the Division of Academic and Student Affairs marketing and communications team captured a 3D digital twin of the entire museum using a Matterport Pro2 camera. While the purpose of the virtual tour was originally to provide patrons and prospective students with a sneak peek of the building, the digital twin contained most of the data that was needed to create a state-of-the-art immersive experience of each exhibition.