The Digital Annex

The digital offerings made by museums are meant to attract tomorrow’s audiences today. Yet is that enough  to fulfill the duty of a cultural institution? The ZKM | Karlsruhe says no and introduces a digital annex into the field: a new Website, a unique online exhibition platform, and applications. All products link artistic concepts with technological innovations. The goal is to expand the artistic offerings to go beyond the classical vocabulary. The idea is not to digitize traditional art and present it on screen rather than in books. The technological development should not be understood exclusively as a service. The digital revolution grants the museum new options in the exhibition space and in the knowledge space of the net. Created should be not only new ways of accessing old content, but also new content. The basic prerequisite for this, free WLAN, has been accessible by visitors to ZKM since 2008!
 
Already in 2014, the ZKM introduced its new website, which differs fundamentally from the web presence of cultural institutions. It offers interested visitors from around the world the chance to participate in the scientific research and cultural education at the ZKM and links expert knowledge to the public sphere. zkm.de defines itself as a digital annex and is an independent mode of existence – not an »interactive web brochure,«  which refers only to events in real space. In contrast to pure service sites, it also explicitly addresses the purely virtual visitor. For the on-site museum visitor, it is to be seen as a component of the overall experience.