Andreas J. Pratama

 

Museum exhibitions have always been an epitome of power and control. Power that allows or disallows and includes and excludes, these were all placed in the hands of the curator or the institutions that owns the exhibition spaces (galleries). While control governs over what narrative, diction, or notion is being spun in the exhibition. This power structure alone when exposed this way bares the truth naked on the economy of power in an exhibition.

Following the pandemic of Covid-19 various exhibition spaces and museums were namely shut down due to health and safety reasons. Many big-name museums such as Louvre, the Guggenheim and others were put under inactivity, this put a lot of stress on the museum’s wellbeing and survival. Not only do their public serving function was put on hold, the artists and art work currently in queue for exhibition are now lacking exposure. Artists and the exhibition spaces now had to think of a way to take the exhibitions online outsmarting the pandemics.

Well established spaces have no problem in making themselves available and accessible via online means. Good cataloguing systems and access to high resolution scanners the artefacts and objects became easily digitized for public viewings. However, this does not change the power structure I mentioned in the first paragraph of this article. This is where the free virtual exhibition rooms come into play.

Various online platforms for exhibitions have made themselves available, the 3d virtual designers are accepting jobs to create digital spaces both for educational and commercial purposes. The public suddenly became aware of this capability to exhibit works online. A website such as artsteps [artsteps.com] have allowed many discourses and art works to be put up on display in these trying times allowing the virtual public exhibition space flourished once again. In the times of extreme precaution the digital world have accidentally allowed for voices, perspectives that previously rejected by the major power and discourse holders have broken through to have their own exhibition made possible. This is where the exhibition spaces have become democratic, uncontrolled by the majority and the gate keepers of power. Most importantly these virtual exhibition spaces are free to use.