ExViz: A Virtual Exhibition Design Environment

Summary. A prototype of a virtual exhibition design environment has been de­ veloped in a co-operation with the Kunstmuseum Bonn. The tool allows curators to interactively designart exhibitions in a virtual real-sizemodel of the museumspace. Scanned artworks are mounted virtually on the museum wallsand the curators gain an authentic spatial impression of the exhibition in a surround-view projection­ based stereoscopic display system. Virtual exhibition design has proven to greatly simplify the exhibition production process. Curators can experience how artworks interact with each other long before they have been packed, insured, shipped, and physically mounted in the museum. Exhibitions can be previewed, and different designs and museum spaces can be compared easily without physically moving ex­ pensive and fragile artwork. As first real-world application, a retrospective of the American painter Philip Guston has been produced by the Kunstmuseum Bonnin a high-quality model of the museum's temporary exhibition space.