CULTURAL HERITAGE IN MIXED REALITY SPACES

Abstract

The last several decades can certainly be recognized by increasingly frequent and innovative approaches in the interpretation and use of cultural heritage in the context of cultural and creative industries, i.e. creative economy. At the same time, accelerated technological development and the wide availability of devices such as mobile phones and tablets, along with the growing production and use of VR glasses and headsets, which very easily move us from physical to virtual reality, have led to a more frequent presentation of heritage using new media. Thus, such initiatives could be recognized as a special branch of creative industries that responds to the needs of new generations of digital natives and increasingly present transmedia communication. The application of modern augmented (AR) and virtual (VR) reality technologies in the presentation of cultural heritage contributes not only to the preservation of heritage, but also to the strengthening of the tourism offer, and increases the accessibility and visibility of many sites. The aim of this paper is to examine the potential for the interpretation and presentation of Serbian heritage in mixed reality spaces through a brief overview of the previous application of the above technologies in the cultural heritage sector and an analysis of selected examples. Special emphasis is placed on the study of the Holograd XR (mixed reality) platform for creating virtual spatial narratives and new forms of communication at the border between the physical and digital world.