On the occasion of Timisoara 2023 European Capital of Culture, the Romanian Cultural Institute in London, in partnership with the Romanian Embassy in London, the Politehnica University of Timisoara, the Timisoara 2023 European Capital of Culture Association and the National Museum of Banat, invites you to find out the latest news about the most important cultural programme of 2023 in Romania, within the framework of the "Spotlight Heritage Timisoara - International Festival of Culture and Digital Heritage - XR Demonstrations" on September 09th - 12th, 2023, between 11:00 - 18:00 at the Romanian Cultural Institute in London (1 Belgrave Square, London).
During the XR demonstrations, the participants will have the opportunity to interact with a complex real-virtual world, by using the latest generation digital technologies that showcase landmarks of Timisoara and to virtually walk the streets of the city, visit and learn about the most famous monuments, without leaving London.
The festival will also feature an interactive installation, visible through virtual and mixed reality glasses, a concept of the Politehnica University of Timisoara. On this occasion, the participants will be able to take a "short tour" through the history of Timisoara's old quarters and listen to stories of the city's multicultural and multiethnic history, with the help of augmented and virtual reality technologies.
Starting with a panoramic view of the city, you will be taken through the history of 5 historical districts, revealed through 3D videos and 3D scans of the museum's heritage, you will be able to visit the iconic buildings in 360 with VR glasses and you will be able to map the path of the "Spotlight Heritage Timisoara" project, guided by virtual reality technology.
Spotlight Heritage Timișoara is a digital cultural initiative of the Politehnica University of Timișoara in partnership with the National Museum of Banat, overlapping heritage in digital and physical formats. Spotlight Heritage Timisoara increases the interest of the wider public in Timișoara’s historical neighborhoods, marginal and neglected, by using guided tours and digital storytelling to empower locals and tourists to see, hear, feel, act, co-create, and internalize the city. It is also a model of digital culture heritage crowdsourced participatory city telling to empower citizens and tourists to turn their technological appetite into culture.
The project mixes personal memories, past and present, with historical and architectural data, by digitally overlapping the intangible heritage from books, memories, oral stories, and art as five women guide our project each year. The digital and physical itineraries divulge their stories through multiple layers: a museum exhibition, streets exhibition, an online website, mobile apps, an augmented reality app, a virtual reality application (history & heritage), a mixed reality holographic application with 3D heritage artifacts, SH Culture App (augmented reality for heritage & panoramic views of Timișoara), SH cultural NFTs, applications, International Spotlight Heritage Student Contest, International Digital Culture & Spotlight Heritage Festival & Talks, theatre & dance happenings, digital installations, mediated and virtual tours, and a final catalogue.
The digital components of the project are accessible online at https://spotlight-timisoara.eu/ and via mobile apps that can be downloaded from Android and Apple stores or by searching "Spotlight Heritage Timisoara".