G20 Digital Museum to celebrate the shared heritage of member, invitee nations

This project is based on India’s G20 theme ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ and the Culture Working Group’s (CWG) hallmark campaign ‘Culture Unites All’, read a statement issued by the Indian government.

The Culture Corridor - G20 Digital Museum is an international project organised for the G20 Leaders’ Summit in India.

This exhibition will be unveiled at Bharatmandapam, at the venue for the G20 Leaders’ Summit, on 9 September 2023, and will open to the public after Leaders' Summit.

Envisioned as a G20 legacy project, this Culture Corridor - G20 Digital Museum is a first- of – its - kind collaborative project which has sought participation from G20 countries to create a ‘museum in the making’. 

The Culture Corridor will serve as a powerful platform for promoting understanding and appreciation of diverse cultural expressions, for knowledge sharing, inclusivity, and equality, and for fostering a sense of shared identity.

The Culture Corridor will incorporate iconic and notable cultural objects and heritage of the G20 members and 9 invitee countries.

The exhibition will showcase thematic curation of tangible, intangible and natural heritage of G20 members and invitee countries, which have a unique identity, and stand as iconic cultural markers spanning millennia of human civilisation.

The Culture Corridor will explore and juxtapose the universal cultural ethos that have guided many civilisations and cultures, and further amplify the importance of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ or One World. One Family. One Future.

The Culture Corridor - G20 Digital Museum will exhibit physical objects and digital media from G20 members and invitee countries.

The submissions requested for were in FIVE categories: Object of Cultural Significance (as a physical display), Iconic Cultural Masterpiece (as a digital display), Intangible Cultural Heritage (as a digital display), Natural Heritage (as a digital display), and an Artefact Related to Democratic Practices (as a physical or digital display). The Culture Corridor has the confirmed participation and submissions from all 20 G20 members and 9 invitee countries.

The Culture Corridor is designed as a hybrid form of future museums.

The most significant cultural objects shall be on display from 29 countries to showcase the skill, art, and history of the world.

While the 180-degree immersive screen will transport the visitor into a zone which will celebrate a natural and intangible cultural heritage of the world.

The exhibit will also showcase a 12-foot digital cube which will display the iconic masterpieces through anamorphic content.

The cube will also celebrate the objects related to democratic practices from time immemorial.

The conceptual premise of the exhibition is the thinking about the evolution of museums from a focus on collections to a more community-oriented approach which is largely driven by digitization.

Over the years, digital curation has evolved from simple touchscreen kiosks to large immersive experiences.

The pandemic was a turning point where the future of museums was at a crossroads. Traditional object-oriented spaces stood at one side while virtual museums on the internet were at the other.

At this crossroad emerged mix media installations and phygital museums. Museums now aim to cater to the diverse interests of not only local communities but for global citizens in a immersive captive environment that has the best of the past in the form of objects and the future, via the language of technology.

The entire experience resonates with the G20 theme of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" One Earth. One Family. One Future.