NML AND DRAW & CODE WANT YOUR STORIES
23/04/20
#094
[ NML ]
Draw & Code is collaborating with National Museums Liverpool as we craft ideas for a large-scale immersive experience that will bring the museum’s hidden gems into the public eye – and we’re calling on you to help us!
As you may remember, NML (National Museums Liverpool) have partnered with Draw & Code before. Our creative and technical magic helped bring the award-winning Terracotta Warriors exhibition to life. For this latest Draw & Code and NML immersive experience, we are looking for inspiration from within the hidden depths of the museum group’s archives – and for you to help tell their stories – whether real or imagined.
David Watson, Executive Director of Audiences and Media at NML says: “We’re delighted to once again be working with Draw & Code on this extremely exciting project! This is about adding an additional layer to our incredible collections and finding new ways with technology that will allow people to interact with and learn about them. We want our visitors to be a part of this journey with us.”
To create this experience we need your help. Do you have a favourite object or collection? What would you like to know more about? Are there any secrets or covert stories you know about one of the museum’s collections? We want to hear stories from visitors to NML’s venues that will help bring these hidden gems into the public eye, and to entice our curious minds.
Andy Cooper, Draw & Code co-founder says: “Draw & Code are thrilled to collaborate with NML again, delving into the wonders and mysteries of their collections to develop an unparalleled immersive experience. Through the stories we craft and technology we use, we hope to make the ideas come alive to surprise and delight. We’re very excited to hear the tales NML’s visitors have to tell!”
For your chance to help shape the stories of this forthcoming immersive experience, please fill out this questionnaire. Thank you!
[ China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors ]
In 2018, China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors showcased more than 180 artefacts from museums across the Shaanxi Province in Northwest China. To help bring these exquisite objects from Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s vast burial site to life, Draw & Code employed a number of immersive techniques to surprise and delight visitors. From the traditional pen-and-ink animation depicting the warring states, to recreating the Emperor’s Mausoleum using a projection mapped installation – the use of creative technology was able to represent aspects of the tomb no living person has ever seen.
This exhibition was the most successful ticketed show of 2018, according to the Museum’s Association, and brought in around £78m into the Liverpool City Region.
It was during the installation of the Terracotta Warriors exhibition when the seed was planted that has led to this latest collaboration. The exhibition was installed after hours, and Draw & Code worked amongst the museum’s treasures in the quiet of the night. During this time, we imagined a new kind of exhibition that allowed audiences to peer behind the curtain of the museum in magic and wonderful ways.
[ The Tale of the Mummified Cat ]
NML have opened up their archives and shared the wonderfully eclectic warehouse storerooms with Draw & Code, taking inspiration from these exciting treasures while researching and developing a brand new immersive exhibition.
A particular highlight are the expertly preserved mummified animals of Ancient Egypt, shipped to Liverpool in the late 19th century. It’s well known that cats were worshipped in Ancient Egypt, but did you know they were also farmed as offerings? NML’s conservationists have even discovered that some of these cat mummies were actually stuffed with straw and in one mysterious case – snakes!
[ Tell us your stories ]
Draw & Code are collaborating with NML at every stage, soaking up the rich knowledge and expertise of their staff and delving deep into the untold stories behind the storerooms, trying to capture what goes on when the lights go out.
We aim to merge facts with fiction – using history to teach and myths to entertain – creating an unparalleled immersive experience.
National Museums Liverpool and Draw & Code want to bring history to life and to do this they need your stories! Have you ever heard a strange tale about the octopus in the aquarium or felt a presence from beyond on the fourth floor? We want your thoughts, knowledge and insights so that we can create the most authentic experience possible, together.
For this NML immersive experience, we would like to read your interesting stories, facts or your own musings about the museum’s contents. It’s up to you.
You can share your stories with us by filling out this form. Thank you!
