Inspiration: 5 Times Digital Transformation in Culture

Below you will find a selection of great practical examples. These institutions are already using various digital technologies to reach a broader audience and optimize work processes. In this way, they adapt to the changing needs of their audience.

ITA and NDT

Reaching a Larger Audience with Hybrid Programming

Why opt for hybrid programming when you already have a great lineup of physical performances? Because it’s a great way to reach a broader, larger, and even more international audience!

ITA and NDT have been offering their performances via livestreaming for a few years now. Their program offering is hybrid: physical and digital. Their goal was to create and offer an additional, unique experience. Digital visitors received a theater experience that was no less than the physical performance. For instance, by providing a unique perspective on the performance from the dancers' viewpoint. Through the livestreams, the international following of both organizations has grown, and ITA and NDT have gained better insights into their audience. New collaborations were also established to make the hybrid programming possible.

Holland Festival

Optimizing Work Processes with a Digital System

When organizing a festival or event, various processes run simultaneously. This was also the case for Holland Festival. After a quick scan, it became clear that there was a lot of repetition in documents and processes: everyone maintained their own files, and systems couldn't communicate with each other. To streamline these processes, Holland Festival integrated them into one digital system: a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool that facilitates customer service, sales, and marketing. The entire process was divided into parts, tested, and optimized to keep it manageable: from cleaning up the database to updating the website.

Introducing these smart processes not only means working more efficiently but also opens up new possibilities. For example, a well-structured archive. An archive of countless Holland Festival performances that the (digital) audience can enjoy again—based on theme, producer, or creator.

Theater De Kring

Digital Theater for Inclusion

Theater De Kring embraces digital innovation to make their offerings more accessible. Visitors can now follow high-quality theater performances from home. 10% of the population lives with a disability that prevents them from going to the theater. Theater De Kring reaches this audience with online performances. To achieve this, they collaborate with a livestreaming and on-demand platform and invested in equipment and training for their technical crew. They recoup this investment by charging the same ticket price for online registrations as for in-person performances. This way, they offer an online experience for those who want it while preventing the audience from skipping the theater altogether.

NNT and Club Guy & Roni

Innovation in Online Theater 

How can online theater touch people from a distance? NNT wanted to create a genuine theater experience online, including the social interaction of a night out. Together with Club Guy & Roni, they developed NITE HOTEL. Visitors can anonymously follow a stream on the platform or experience a live performance via Zoom. They can also react in the chat. By consciously directing people to one platform at one moment, NITE HOTEL became a space where people meet and engage in conversation.

The NITE HOTEL platform also influences the creative process. NNT sees NITE HOTEL as a new art form that lies somewhere between digital, film, and theater. An art form that is interactive.

Lil Nas X and Roblox

A Concert in the Metaverse

Why does a popular and world-famous American rapper choose to perform a live concert in the metaverse rather than on a stage somewhere in the world? And why does the hugely popular gaming platform Roblox choose to collaborate with a rapper in this way? The answer is simple: they want to (continue to) reach the audience of the future. And they succeeded: in two days, the four shows were viewed 33 million times. The show was a virtual concert: all the rapper's movements were recorded and translated into his 3D avatar. His outfits and the Roblox environment also changed during the shows. The enormous success of these concerts hints at a viable business model. Could this be the way to share new art with the audience of the future?

Getty Villa Museum and Media.Monks

Reaching a Larger Audience with an Interactive Experience

The Getty Villa Museum in Los Angeles wanted to raise awareness of their exhibition on the ancient Persian Empire and reach a larger, global audience. Together with the Dutch digital production company Media.Monks, the museum created an impressive, interactive experience. People can visit Persepolis in a 3D environment (opens in new tab), the capital of ancient Persia. It complements the physical exhibition in Los Angeles and allows visitors far beyond the city to experience the exhibition uniquely.

A close collaboration between archaeologists, historians, art experts, curators, creators, and digital technicians was required to accurately and historically depict the Persepolis of the past. This brought this piece of history to life for a diverse, global audience. From proud Iranians eager to share their history with the world to history teachers and museum visitors seeking new perspectives.

With digital technologies, cultural institutions can create unique worlds. For example, worlds like this one, which we can no longer visit in reality.