Fotografiska Sweden: Making The Visit Experiential
Fotografiska Sweden (https://www.fotografiska.com/sto/en/) and is part of a series of interviews with museums around the world. I have asked them all — “What is your digital experience”. The goal is to understand what they believe is a digital experience as well as to better understand the “DNA” of the museum, i.e. how it functions & responds to the changes expected of it in the 21st century.
I interviewed Karl Skoog — Marcom director. Karl is part of the core creative team that set the Fotografiska vision. He also oversees the creatives & marketing who then develop this vision & set-up/organise the experience[2], events & other activities.
After our initial introductions, I started by asking Karl what does he/Fotografiska believe is a “digital experience”. Similar to Mona in Hobart, his response was unexpected & refreshing:
“To Enhance the guest experience for the meeting place”.
Fotografiska likes to think their experience is boundless, i.e. before, during & after the visit[3]. To really understand the importance of this sentence, we need to see how it corresponds to the way Fotografiska functions. Let us focus on the 2 highlighted subjects:
· Guest — Fotografiska does not use the term visitor, they say the people coming to their place are guests who are not only there to be inspired & appreciate the exhibitions, they are here also to enjoy the other experiences on offer
· Meeting Place — Internally, Fotografiska does not use the term museum to describe itself. Their space is more than just appreciating artwork, it is a place to hangout — to meet people, to see art, spend some time, chillax, see a conference, learn at an academy, sample the best culinary experience, chat with people, share an experience. This is why they are more a meeting place[4]. To accommodate this Fotografiska is open 7 days a week & from 9am ‘till late
With all the experiences available, the natural consequence is that more people come & stay longer. Karl said that Fotografiska is also about Social Connection as they would like people to connect and discuss[5] — discussions that has been triggered by their meeting place experience. They wish to create a space that is inclusive, i.e. not an exclusive place for art lovers or snobs. No one should feel divorced from the art & the art space. No one should feel inadequate if they don’t necessarily understand what is being exhibited & should be able to voice their thoughts without recrimination.
In speaking further with Karl, Fotografiska has the vision to “Inspire a More Conscious World”.
Look at their unique mix of culinary & art experience. The restaurant is mainly vegetarian. The chef creates his/her menu depending on season & products that are available locally. Also, many of their exciting events & activities are themed around social & world consciousness. If we look at the way they have allocated precious floor space (they have dedicated 1 whole floor to what I call a détente space, i.e. almost a 1/3 of the total 5500m2) that allows for connection, discussions & inspiration.
[2] Fotografiska likes to use the word “experience” instead of “exhibition”
[3] At least that is their intention
[4] It has been mentioned that Fotografiska is one of the premier places to go on a date!
[5] This discussion may be about the art/photography or about subjects inspired by the artwork. Hopefully something more than bad news & money.
The idea of responsibility, discussion & inclusion extends also to the employees at Fotografiska[6]. They are encouraged to participate & question, to feel part of the decision proceed, to be empowered & then to act. In return they are expected to “not lose their cool” & always ask the question “why?” as their work may vary & expectations change along the way.
Considering all of this, we can see how Fotografiska’s DNA is very different & how with this policy they can address the future. The other museum that has a similar culture is Mona in Hobart. Both are young, open & dynamic. This shows in their attitude & openness to embrace the new & unexpected.
As a very successful museum (see further on about their royal visitors…) it is interesting to compare their relative costs. As a rough measure I compare the cost per visitor, i.e. their total annual expenditure divided by the annual visitor number[7].
[6] Recently their inclusion & equality extended to pay where there is no pay difference between males & females
[7] I use this metric as a common thread throughout my articles
So enough of the DNA, what about their digital experience…?
My visit started, as for any visitor, at the entrance. It is a busy place with an extensive bookshop of photographic books & merchandising.
We went upstairs to the Fotografiska offices to have our chat. They have beautiful photographic work everywhere. It provides an ambience that encourages creativity, even in the daily chores of running a successful organisation. Obviously, the view over the harbour helps to contemplate these daily problems.
I was taken to their top floor meeting space. All their meeting spaces are available for events, lectures etc. The one on the office floor is really cool with a wonderful view over the harbour & designer features. The Fotografiska offices occupy a surprising small space for such a large museum.
When Fotografiska opened in 2010, there was no thought about any sort of digital experience. They had a vision — to create the best photographic space in the Nordics. They already knew it needed other things to make it different. However, at first the only thing “digital” was entirely internal, i.e. web site, accounts, POS, HR etc. Later-on ecommerce was added and each of the internal systems was upgraded as it reached its limits. Not unlike any new start-up or business.
The focus on being the best photographic place ever was proven recently — from a crazy idea created by the 2 Broman brothers in 2010 to having royalty visit from 3 different countries in 2018 and having over 500,000 visitors a year — a major achievement!
For the last 7 years, Fotografiska has not used any museum software. Apart from the continuous presentation of temporary exhibitions, most of their activities are based on commerce, hospitality & events. Their operations have had to integrated ecommerce/POS/CRM[8] type applications. The original collection of systems was migrated to Microsoft Dynamics suite however it was simply too big & cumbersome for their needs. Also, as Fotografiska does not have its own permanent collection[9], they have no need for a Collections Management System (“CMS”) or other museum-oriented system.
As mentioned, one of the biggest differences between Fotografiska & other museums, is that it does not have its own permanent collection. It relies on 4 large & up to 20 minor temporary exhibition a year. Therefore, its artwork is always fresh & new. Even the hugely successful National Gallery of Victoria (“NGV”)[10], based in Melbourne Australia, understands this. NGV’s success has been to show 2 major temporary exhibitions (summer & winter) per year. A strategy that has catapulted the NGV to the 19th most visited museum in the world.
So, with such a frantic schedule, how does Fotografiska use its digital operations / infrastructure to create the visitor experience? Today it is still a traditional process, i.e. artist selection, creative meetings, planning, logistics, artist involvement, vernissage/openings, online promotion, takedown, next…. What makes their system work is that Fotografiska empowers the staff to make decisions & to work together as a team:
“Fotografiska works like a well-balanced family with mutual trust & respect between staff”.
Their infrastructure & digital tools are in the process of changing. At the beginning of 2017, Fotografiska implemented a dense wired & wireless network as well as indoor location system based on Bluetooth beacons. This is in anticipation of the next phase of development[11].
How does this translate in to an enhanced visitor experience?
Fotografiska has continuously adapted their outwardly focused digital platforms, i.e. website, ecommerce, social media. They have added & adapted screens to inform their visitors and tailored the digital information for their visitor providing information depending on where they are & how they are seeing it. For example, the large screen at the entrance on the outside shows different information to the screens at the bookshop entrance which is different to the screens on the 2nd floor. This year they will also extend this information to the visitor’s device. None of this is anything extraordinary, so why do visitors come back? The answer is quite simple — ambience, experience & view. People came back to just hangout — to see an ever-changing kaleidoscope of photographic art, to eat, to drink, to discuss & watch majestic boats float by. Fotografiska also uses NPS (Net Promotion Score) emails to gather user feedback so they can continuously adapt.
[8] Point of Sale/Customer Relationship Management
[9] This may change
[10] The NGV was interviewed in December 2017
[11] The next phase also included a beta version of the Fotografiska app for live testing & visitor feedback
What does the staff think of their digital experience today?
There isn’t too much to report here. The present systems are fairly standard. Everyone is used to it. These have changed a couple of times over the last 7 years to adapt to greater demands & visitor numbers. Obviously when these changes were implemented there were teething problems as staff got used to new interfaces or process changes. The result being that better on-boarding is needed which Fotografiska hopes to do with its next change planned in 2018.
What about the future digital experience for visitors?
This will start before the guest even arrives at the museum. Fotografiska is building a new platform that will start to be rolled out during 2018. Version 1 will be based on a middleware that will integrate the many different modules/departments so that any information is only entered once & available everywhere else. What does this mean in practise — once a visitor has registered online or bought a ticket[12], they will be able to access information based on their profile — even a personalised message when they arrive. The new version of the Fotografiska app will be context & location aware so that the visitor is informed in a timely manner. The app[13] will be used to link users to membership to their purchases to their tickets & to the photographic artwork being viewed. It will have the usual audio, video, still & multimedia information as well as quizzes & treasure-hunts so that children & classes can actively participate & learn about the artwork & artists being shown. Any user should be able to post their thoughts & opinions on the artwork. Eventually Augmented Reality (“AR”) will be added which will dramatically change the way art is experienced. Not only how but where. Collectors will be able to see the artwork at home on the wall, virtual exhibitions can be created… — many possibilities that have yet to be imagined…
This will add a new layer of information & interaction allowing the curators, artist & other visitors to share & learn — all based on the Fotografiska vision to be inclusive. The future version, for the staff, will try to unify the experience between the various departments. Examples are:
- Enter data once
- Know what is happening in other departments, e.g. food & beverage staff know what conferences or events are on
- Visitor numbers/tickets sold to alert staff in advance if the day will be busy
- KPI[14] driven with staff feedback to continuously improve the process
- Internal messaging between staff & staff alerts to help them prepare in advance
- Etc.
[12] The purchasing ability from the unified platform will extend to all stages. Visitors will be able to buy online, at home, inside & outside the museum. Whether it is art, merchandising, tickets, events, food/drinks or booking the restaurant — the ability to order what you want will be context & location aware. So, if you love a piece of artwork & there is merchandising available or an associated event, the visitor can pre-order it there & then
[13] Karl mentioned they will need to create a better way of promoting the app. If we look at Mona in Tasmania, the app or device is imperative to see the artwork as there is no signage or description anywhere in the museum
[14] KPI — Key Performance Indictor
Similarly, interaction between the staff & the visitors on the new platform should change the way the curators create the exhibitions & how they communicate their “creations”. With the extra level of interactivity, the staff can add content, comments, multimedia & other forms of communication so that the visitor understand why the exhibit has been created a certain way. It is important that this extra layer does not overload the staff. To help the staff do this efficiently, the platform will need to automate the basic process of exhibit creation so that the curators & artists can concentrate on creating greater interest & share their passion.
Further in to the future, Karl sees Fotografiska creating virtual Fotografiskas for people who cannot physically get to the museum & to create virtual memberships for people that cross borders & time zones. Almost like creating the ultimate go-to or Wikipedia for photographic art.
After our interview, we visited behind the scenes…
Fotografiska covers 5500m2 over 3 floors of which 2500m2 is exhibition space. It has been created inside the old customs building in the port of Stockholm. One can sit at the window on the top floor & watch passenger ships majestically float by. The basement caters to infrastructure & operations, i.e. cleaning, framing etc. There is also “The academy” a place where people come to learn & share their experience. The ground floor has i) the entrance, ii) shop, iii) ground floor exhibition space, iv) logistics (behind closed doors). Out the rear is also a large lecture theatre/space for events or hire. The 1st floor is all exhibition space. The whole of the 2nd floor is the “détente” space, i.e. bar & stage, cafeteria/kiosk, working area, restaurant[15] plus conference area. The top floor or 3rd floor is administration plus executive conference room.
As mentioned before, Fotografiska has dedicated 1/3 of its resources, i.e. 1 whole floor to the visitor experience, i.e. food, drink, bar, restaurant, meeting place, hangout, chillaxing. For most modern museums this is unheard-of. It works here. To get a sense of the space I have used photos taken by a Swedish photographer — Magnus Omme[16]
[15] Voted the best museum restaurant in the world in 2017
[16] MAGNUSOMME PHOTOGRAPHY | COPENHAGEN contact@magnusomme.com | www.magnusomme.com
Fotografiska has used the natural history of the building & photographic artwork to enhance most parts of the building. The conference rooms have the raw wooden floorboards & exposed infrastructure with designer lamps, tables, bar, lights etc.
Photographic art flows throughout the building. Obviously, there are places that cannot such accoutrements such as logistics & maintenance. Logistics is a hive of ordering, sorting, packaging & shipping so not a single bit of wall space for art.
In the basement there are several rooms dedicated to academies & lectures. Places to learn and/or exchange information. Some are funded by corporate sponsor, others available freely.
After a walk outside in -4°C to look at the architectural history of the building we went back inside & settled in front of one of the many large bay windows overlooking the harbour to sample one of the many wonderful wines available. The water view has a calming effect & complements the photographic work that is ever-present.
On the way out, after visiting the exhibitions there was a classic photo-booth to take a selfie. A quaint touch between the old & new worlds in photography.
Conclusion
Apart from their investment in seeking & empowering their staff[17], Fotografiska sees the digital platform as a fundamental & important tool to address the future. They see the world changing rapidly. The advent of social media & powerful mobile devices has totally changed the landscape for museums. It will provide greater & more interesting ways to engage with the visitors of the future. It will also challenge to the core those museums that fail to adapt. The classic definition of a museum may even have to change. It may simply be more logical to no longer have a permanent exhibition but to pool & create permanent exhibitions that are shared & rotated between museums. Virtual exhibitions created around these so that people can access them rather than having these permanent collections lost in archives somewhere. So maybe for the museum of the future, not having permanent assets may be an advantage more than a liability. We shall see…
[17] I spoke to several of the staff in the various departments. All of them were so enthusiastic & loved working there. There was also an active policy to find people of different cultures, languages, race etc. The only real constraint is that the people were enthusiastic, competent and had a love of art.
Fotografiska will also need to share its knowledge & creativity by helping artists — especially photography & digital art — create & innovate. To move beyond what we have today & use the changes, expectations & challenges to create work that speaks to the new generations. A word hated by pure art lovers is “gamifying”. It may seem something that is so anti-art may, in the end, be another way to create & share art…
If I was to give a score, it would be
“welcome to a new experience, it’s on its way…”.
Dot-Reality
Dot-Reality specialises in digital strategy & innovation for museums & institutions. With over 20 years’ experience in hi-tech & a passion for art & culture, Dot-Reality sees the museum & institute future about providing an inclusive experience that defies expectations. Transformation is not just about resources but about a change of perspective. Dot-Reality exists to help tailor this transformation.