PRISM
The MMFA’s Digital Mediation Innovation Lab
Photo Elias Touil
In 2019, a new space made its appearance on Level S2 of the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace.
Both a place for reflection and a catalyst for collaboration, this lab brings people together to tackle the challenges of digital mediation and explore, co-create and imagine new tools and digital experiences for museums.
Context
As technological innovation continues to evolve at lightning speed, the digital realm has become an extension of human cognition, transforming the way we think and relate to our world. In the museum space, digital technology holds the promise of a new dialogue with “plugged-in” visitors.
To this end, PRISM – the MMFA’s Digital Mediation Innovation Lab – has taken on the challenge of reinventing the museum-digital relationship by involving visitors at the centre of the innovation process. It has mobilized a vast network of partners to foster collaborations aimed at imagining and co-creating new forms of digital museum mediation and enriching the visitor experience.
Photo Frédéric Faddoul
Photo Rose Mercier-Marcotte
Digital Committee
PRISM’s activities are overseen by the MMFA’s Digital Committee composed of 15 experts in various fields in Quebec who have a particular interest in digital museum mediation. They keep abreast of the latest developments in order to define and recommend priority areas for the lab’s activities. The committee also evaluates and selects the projects to be carried out.
Committee members
Brigitte Belleville
Ilias Benjelloun
Maxime Durand
Anne-Josée Lacombe
Marie-Claude Larouche (President)
Martin Lessard
Katia Macias-Valades
Stéphanie Marchand
Valérie Therrien
Vivek Venkatesh
Values and mission
Collaboration
PRISM’s actions are grounded in interaction, dialogue, sharing and co-creation.
Innovation
PRISM encourages the co-creation of new knowledge that supports technological innovation and the evolution of museum practices.
Experience
PRISM prioritizes the interests of visitors seeking rich, meaningful experiences that can enhance their well-being.
PRISM supports the development of digital museum mediation in Quebec.
PRISM leads research on digital interactions among different museum audiences, facilitates collaborative innovation projects, offers digital explorations to visitors, serves as a catalyst for intersectoral collaboration and fosters the sharing of expertise and experiences between professionals. In short, it aims to be a pillar of the Montreal and Quebec museum ecosystem in the area of technological innovation.
Four Areas of Action
Four Areas of Action
Photo Elias Touil
Photo Rose Mercier-Marcotte
Photo Elias Touil
Photo Rose Mercier-Marcotte
Facts about the PRISM Digital Lab
Over 300 hours
of brainstorming and consultation
Over 199 visitors
involved in digital projects and explorations
22 projects
9 collaborative innovation projects
2 studies on museum audiences
8 digital explorations
3 consultative committees
100 museum professionals
41 technology creators or incubators
16 researchers
24 government agents
PRISM is funded by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications as part of the implementation of measure 115 of Quebec’s Plan culturel numérique.
