News

Three Global Awards for the Gibson Group’s Wall Technology

01/05/2012

In the past 3 days the Copenhagen Wall produced by Gibson Group has picked up 3 awards around the globe.  

2012 MUSE Award Winners

The Wall technology integrates social media functionality

The MUSE awards, for outstanding media and technology in museums worldwide, were held on Sunday night at the American Association of Museum’s conference in Minneapolis, attended by over 5000 people from museums around America and the world.  At the event, the Wall won not only the Gold award in the Interactive Kiosk category, but also the supreme overall winner, called the Jim Blackaby Ingenuity Award.

Award organisers for the American Association of Museums say that winners of the Jim Blackaby Ingenuity Award “serve as industry benchmarks for the most cutting-edge, innovative, and advanced practices in Web and application development, demonstrating unparalleled excellence across The Academy’s six criteria: content, structure & navigation, visual design, interactivity, functionality, and overall experience. The award recognizes a project that exemplifies the power of creative imagination in the use of media and technology—a project that has a powerful effect on its audience, and one that stands above the others in inventiveness and quality. “

Meanwhile in Cairo, Egypt on Friday evening, the United Nation’s World Summit Award for e-Content and Creativity prize-giving ceremony was held, where the Wall picked up an “e-Culture & Heritage” award.

Exhibition Producer for Gibson Group Brett Tompkins was in Minneapolis for the MUSE awards with the Director the Museum of Copenhagen, Jette Sandahl.   Gibson Group Chief Executive Victoria Spackman and Exhibition Project Director Allan Smith attended the WSA conference and prize-giving in Cairo, Egypt.

“These awards come in the wake of the immediate popular success of our Wall technology” said Mr Smith. “The MUSE award is an amazingly big deal for us – in the museum world it’s like an Academy Award. And the e-Culture and Heritage award is of major importance to other city Wall projects that we are developing in various parts of the world, including, by coincidence, Cairo”. 

What the judges for the MUSE awards found “most remarkable in the Wall”, said jury chair Josh Goldblum, “is its incredible ability to engage the public and foster visitor participation.  The visual interface succeeds in being both beautiful and human. Overall we feel that this kiosk represents an extremely successful marriage of multi-user interaction, layered content with integrated visitor contributions, and an innovative and beautiful design.”

Ms Spackman said “these three latest awards give a great boost to the Gibson Group’s developing business opportunities around the globe.  We have long been recognised as world leaders in the use of technology to transform museums’ offerings to visitors and we now have the awards to prove it.”

The Copenhagen Wall was produced in partnership with the Museum of Copenhagen and Danish graphic artists Spild af Tid. 

For more information, please contact Allan Smith on allan@gibson.co.nz or 0274 542102 or Victoria Spackman on victoria@gibson.co.nz or 021 966 033.  

The Wall in Copenhagen

Background on the MUSE awards 

The MUSE awards are presented by the American Association of Museums.  The Media and Technology Committee (which is a standing committee of the American Association of Museums) make the selections from the nominations.  Some describe the awards as the Oscars of the museum world.  The Gibson Group has won two awards: the overall ingenuity award: the Jim Blackaby Ingenuity Award and the Interactive Kiosks Award.   

Winners of the Jim Blackaby award serve as industry benchmarks for the most cutting-edge, innovative, and advanced practices in Web and application development, demonstrating unparalleled excellence across Association’s six criteria: content, structure & navigation, visual design, interactivity, functionality, and overall experience. The Interactive Kiosks award which is awarded to a single interactive kiosk in a gallery, visitor centre or other public space that offers an alternative, visitor-friendly view of information. 

The Jim Blackaby Ingenuity Award was introduced in New Orleans at the 2004 MUSE awards ceremony. Jim Blackaby, a board member of the Media and Technology Committee, passed away in the summer of 2003. Jim influenced many in the museum world with his innovative work in information services and Internet strategies. Conceived in his memory, this award recognizes a project that exemplifies the power of creative imagination in the use of media and technology—a project that has a powerful effect on its audience, and one that stands above the others in inventiveness and quality. The winner is selected from submissions to the MUSE awards of all categories and does not necessarily have to be a winner within the category to which it was submitted. 

Judges Comments Interactive Kiosks: Gold 

Technically, with four huge plasma touch screens specially designed for the outdoors, a vast database that is synched to the web and an installation that can be physically moved around the city, this project is impressive. But what we found most remarkable is its incredible ability to engage the public and foster visitor participation. In addition to thousands of images and videos from the museum's collection, the wall's 4,000 daily visitors have submitted over 4,300 pieces of media and over 5,000 comments. All of this content is organized into a 3-dimensional cityscape that also has a historical dimension, allowing you to move back in time and see what the city looked like in the past. The user-contributed content is integrated into this interface in a way that is genuine and the visual interface succeeds in being both beautiful and human. Overall we feel that this kiosk represents an extremely successful marriage of multi-user interaction, layered content with integrated visitor contributions, and an innovative and beautiful design. 

Jury Chair/Presenter: Josh Goldblum, Bluecadet Interactive 

No comments for the Jim Blackaby award are received. For this award the jurys nominate a project and the chairs and some members vote.