Following 60 institutional applications from 35 countries, We Are Museums Community in collaboration with the Tezos Foundation and LAL ART, announced the selection of 20 international entities, including the National Museum of Art Timisoara, the only cultural institution chosen from Romania.

The selected cultural institutions that will participate in the Innovation Lab are: Cleveland Public Library (United States), Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (United States), Design Museum Brussels (Belgium), Die Neue Sammlung, Pinakothek der Moderne (Germany), Domaine national de Chambord (France), FUNDACIÓN UXÍO NOVONEYRA (Spain), Grand Egyptian Museum (Egypt), House of Arts Veszprém (Hungary), Hungarian National Museum (Hungary), IKSV – Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (Turkey), Museum Ulm (Germany), National Art Museum Timișoara (Romania), Palais de Tokyo (France), Parque Explora Corporation – Interactive Science Museum (Columbia), Sigg Art Foundation (Belgium), Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (Greece), Swiss National Museum (Switzerland), The Kyiv National Art Gallery (Ukraine), Van Gogh Museum (Netherlands) and XR HUB Bavaria (Germany).

Innovation Lab Web3 for the Arts and Culture, organized by We Are Museums under the guidance of a network of 35 mentors, continues for the third consecutive year its mission to promote innovation, education and collaboration in the arts and culture sector.

The museum community training program, led by 35 esteemed experts including Regina Harsanyi, Chris Michaels and others, enables museums to understand, assimilate and deploy technologies web3 responsibly.

In the current context, where art institutions face multiple challenges driven by changing social norms, environmental concerns and economic dynamics, emerging technologies such as web3 (blockchain-based technology) and AI (artificial intelligence) are poised to usher in an era of transformation, offering a wealth of unprecedented opportunities for museums and cultural organizations to reinvent their roles, engage audiences in innovative experiences and navigate the complex intersection between art, technology and society. Recognizing the urgent need for arts and cultural organizations to embrace these emerging technologies, the WAC Museums educational program offers an exclusive and intensive six-week training opportunity designed specifically for cultural institutions.

The WAC Museums training program is designed to empower museum professionals with the tools to not only understand the ongoing innovation of web3but also to encourage critical thinking about its ethical, social, legal and environmental implications.

Through online training, live sessions and expert guidance from leading experts such as Regina Harsanyi (Associate Curator of Media Arts at the New York Museum of the Moving Image), Chris Michaels (Research Strategy and Creative Development Consultant), Sonja Thiel (Digital Catalyst Artificial Intelligence / Lead Creative User Empowerment at Badisches Landesmuseum), Oonagh Murphy (Senior Lecturer in Digital Culture and Society at Goldsmiths, University of London) and Pierre Noro (trainer at Sciences Po and Learning Planet Institute), participants will gain in-depth knowledge about the concept of web3concept, artificial intelligence and immersive technologies.

The program also explores practical applications of web3 for museums, including art acquisitions, innovative public engagement strategies, etc. A network of 35 renowned mentors, including Wade Wallerstein (Gray Area, Outland), Nina Roehrs (Roehrs & Boetsch), Judy Mam (dada.art), Anika Meier (Expanded.art), Gretchen Andrew (artist), John Karp (NFT Factory), and Charlotte Kent (Montclair State University), will provide guidance and information throughout the program, ensuring that participants receive support and subject matter expertise.

This training process will contribute to the digital maturity of the MNArT and open up innovative perspectives for inter-institutional collaboration on cultural heritage and collections.