Gaming the Museum: The Power of Open-Source Innovation in Cultural Spaces (Online)

Museum educators, interaction designers, and game-studio partners from Switzerland and the United States share insights from developing 20 open-source game prototypes through Project AMI (Art + Museums Interacting). Built in swift 30-day sprints and refined through public play-tests, the examples show how gamified experiences transform visitors from passive observers into curious explorers - while offering a process any institution can adopt.

Speakers outline the concrete advantages of exchanging assets, methodologies, and documentation, pooling resources across borders, and nurturing a growing international learning community. They also explore how open-source practices spark entrepreneurial energy, enabling studios to co-create with museums and keep iterating long after a project’s debut.

A spotlight on Grabbit showcases how ideas flourish across institutions: originally developed by Museum Rietberg, it was later adapted with custom content for SFMOMA - illustrating how ideas travel when tools remain open.

Moderated by journalist Muriel Siki, this one-hour Zoom conversation is followed by live Q&A and an on-demand replay on the ArtTech YouTube channel.