FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Springfield, MO. (January 12, 2023) – The Springfield Art Museum is pleased to partner with CloudPano to provide virtual museum tours through their 360 degree software platform. The Museum previously piloted several virtual gallery “walk throughs” during COVID-19 pandemic-related stay at home orders and public health guidelines that limited physical attendance. These virtual opportunities to view art were very popular and allowed the Museum to continue mounting exhibitions and serving audiences while in-person visits were restricted.
Though pandemic-related capacity limits have eased, the demand for remote opportunities to connect with the Museum, its collection, and its exhibitions has increased. Through CloudPano, virtual visitors can tour the Museum’s Lobby and the Thielen, Badgley, SMMA, and Musgrave Galleries to view Dale Chihuly’s Autumn Persian & Feather Chandelier installation, and the Creating an American Identity and Survey of Ceramic Art permanent collection exhibitions. The Museum plans to scan all additional galleries and exhibitions throughout 2023.
Museum Director Nick Nelson notes, “I’m very excited about this novel way to access the Museum. Accessibility is a priority for the Springfield Art Museum and these virtual tours underscore this fact. They will help us reach more people and allow more people to reach us, despite physical distance. I am so grateful to the Southwest Missouri Museum Associates for their support of this project and the dedicated Museum staff and interns who made it happen.”
CloudPano 360 degree Virtual Museum Tours at the Springfield Art Museum are generously sponsored by the Southwest Missouri Museum Associates (SMMA). SMMA President Tina Stillwell says, “We are excited to provide funding for this new virtual tool that will enable teachers to introduce the Springfield Art Museum to students who have not had the opportunity to visit the Museum." SMMA has a long history of supporting educational initiatives at the Museum, including funding the transportation costs to bring 5th grade students on field trips to the Museum each fall.
Current virtual tours represent the Museum's installations as of October 2021 and some works may have rotated off of view. The Springfield Art Museum is located at 1111 East Brookside Drive. Admission is always free. Donations are gratefully accepted.
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The Springfield Art Museum is Springfield, Missouri’s oldest cultural institution, founded in 1928. A department of the City of Springfield, the Museum invites you to connect with the world, your community, and yourself through active engagement with art objects. For more information, please visit www.sgfmuseum.org or contact Joshua Best, Museum Affairs Officer at (417) 874-2859 or jbest@springfieldmo.gov.