ONB’s Library Labs present Virtual Artspace

Within the frame of the Web Residency 2021 (see previous post), the ONB Labs Artspace was developed, an online platform for the presentation of the work created in the course of the Web Residency. The setup of an virtual artspace was one of the main taks for 2021 in the ODL workpackage on “Artistic Experiments”. Though the ONB Labs Artspace was designed in the context of the Web Residency 2021, it is also intended to function as a virtual exhibition space for future artistic projects at the ONB Labs. The conception and development of the Artspace took place in close cooperation with the Web Residency’s artist, Rosemary Lee, and the curator, Seth Weiner. Sophie Hammer, who works for the ODL project at the Austrian National Library,  designed different prototypes, from which the team chose the most convincing and appropriate design. Design and navigation elements underwent a micro-usertesting among colleagues at the Austrian National Library, with some minor adjustements thereafter.

The Virtual Artspace is designed to allow for an immersive experience of art works related to the Austrian National Library’s digital datasets that are available at the Library Labs infrastructure. The guiding principles are: As much space as possible should be given to the artworks and the attention of the visitors should be distracted as little as possible by navigation elements. The Artspace is therefore marked purely by a narrow frame and the navigation has been restricted to a subtle point. Both elements, point and frame, react in their appearance to the content. The flexible area of the Artspace will be developed further for future projects and might change in its design for different contributions. As a space for artistic experiments with the digital holdings of the ONB Labs, it will be open to all users.

Your are welcome to explore the Austrian National Library’s Labs Artspace featuring the Web Residency’s winning artwork from Rosemary Lee namend «Cryptographics».
Inspired? If you have an idea for a contribution, please contact the ONB Labs team at labs[at]onb.ac.at.