“Welcome to virtual reality”
After touring the globe for the past six years, the phenomenally successful ‘David Bowie is’ exhibition has come to an end. But the show must go on! This fall, Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., in collaboration with the David Bowie Archive, Planeta, and V&A, will release a digital recreation of the exhibition on smartphones as an augmented reality experience. In the spring, a redesigned ‘David Bowie is’ will arrive on all major virtual reality platforms.
These new digital versions of ‘David Bowie is’ will add unprecedented depth and intimacy to the exhibition experience, allowing the viewer to engage with the work of one of the world’s most popular and influential artists as never before. The David Bowie Archive will donate a portion of the profits to the V&A and Brooklyn Museum.
Keep reading for the full press release.
#DBisVirtual
DAVID BOWIE IS VIRTUAL
July 16, 2018 -- Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. will release an augmented and virtual reality adaptation of the iconic museum retrospective ‘David Bowie is.’ Planeta, a product studio in New York City, will develop the experience for mobile devices and all major VR/AR platforms in collaboration with the David Bowie Archive and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
‘David Bowie is’ was a record-breaking exhibition that drew over 2 million visitors in the 12 cities where it was presented. It was the most visited touring exhibition at the V&A - the world’s greatest museum of decorative arts, design and performance. The show explored the creative processes of Bowie as a musical innovator and cultural icon, tracing his shifting style and sustained reinvention across five decades.
The digital experience, a first of its kind, will deliver an astonishing, but deftly connected sequence of audio-visual spaces through which the work and artifacts of Bowie’s life can be experienced. 3D scans will preserve and present his fabulous costumes and treasured objects in meticulous detail. The experience may even allow a spectator to virtually step into one of Bowie’s outfits and see themselves in it.
David Bowie was one of the most influential artists of our era. Both the visual richness of this show and the visionary nature of Bowie and his art, makes this a particularly ideal candidate for a VR/AR adaptation. It will be an entirely new experience of ‘David Bowie is,’ one that enhances this iconic show with elements that only VR and AR can provide, yet remains firmly grounded in the work of this extraordinary artist.
The experience will – like the museum show – be offered in nine different languages. The first release is expected for fall 2018. The David Bowie Archive will be donating a share of the profits from this project to the V&A and the Brooklyn Museum.
Visit davidbowieisreal.com to stay connected to this exciting project.
Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. organized ‘David Bowie is’ in Tokyo in 2017.
Planeta is a New York product studio that builds expressive tools and experiences in new media.