Hunan Provincial Museum Joins the Google Art Project

On March 21, 2013, Hunan Provincial Museum successfully joined Google Art Project and launched its collections on the website, becoming the first public museum in China’s mainland to join the project. It provided rich online content to internet users across the globe. During this phase, thirty museums from fifteen different countries joined this online project, among which Hunan Provincial Museum was the only one from China.

Hunan Provincial Museum has been closed since it carried out the renovation and expansion project last year. However, it continues to provide services to the public through various channels, such as educational activities beyond museum walls, the launch of online virtual galleries andmobile applications. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the free admission policy, Hunan Provincial Museum collaborates with Google to launch 50 well-selected pieces of art onto the Google Art Project, which can be shared by all worldwide internet users. Thus free admission policy is extended to the internet, providing audiences with an online gallery that never closes.

Last year, Hunan Provincial Museum expressed willingness to cooperate with Google and selected 50 treasures out of its collections as the first phase of online launching program in Google Art Project. Two aspects were considered during the selection process: the objects should represent the features of the collection of Hunan Provincial Museum and also be attractive to online visitors. In terms of the categories, these selected objects range from bronze wares, ceramics, calligraphy, lacquer wares, textiles, jade, to tusks and horns. In terms of the time span, they cover the 5,000 years history of China, from the Red Pottery in the Neolithic Age to ivory carving of the late Republic of China. In terms of the regional features, over 10 objects are from the world renowned Mawangdui Han Tombs. In addition, bronze wares from Shang and Zhou Dynasties and ceramics from Changsha Kiln in Tang Dynasty are included. Internet users now can easily feast their eyes on those exquisite objects and explore the essence of Hunan culture.

Google Art Project is a non-profit online art campaign co-launched by Google and many museums, committed to providing global internet users with access to many museum galleries and artifacts. High definition images of the galleries and objects are on display mainly through advanced software and network technology, enabling art fans to freely visit the world’s top art galleries and museums on the internet. Up to now, over 200 museums have joined the project, with more than 6,000 artists and over 40 thousand treasures. There are many world famous museums and galleries, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The State Hermitage Museum, National Palace Museum in Taibei, Tokyo National Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Musee d’Orsay, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art and so on.

Together with Google, Hunan Provincial Museum will analyze the web data and find out demands from internet users regarding the online display during the next phase. Both sides will deepen cooperation and explore the production of Virtual Reality gallery and 1 billion pixel high definition images as well as the optimal display methods for special artifacts.

Website of Google Art Project – Hunan Provincial Museum
http://www.googleartproject.com/collection/hunan-provincial-museum/