Over the weekend of 16 and 17 May, the Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia (mNACTEC) is staging open days and a number of free activities to mark Museum Night and Day. This year's key initiatives include the premiere of a video mapping project on the facade of the building, daytime and nighttime guided tours of the vaults of the Museum roof, and the visit "The Hidden Treasures of the mNACTEC".
International Museum Day is held every year around 18 May, with the aim of raising general public awareness as to the role of museums in the development of society.
Museum Night
On Saturday, 16 May, the mNACTEC will be celebrating Museum Night with an open day from 19:00 hours until 01:00 at night, with a bar service in the courtyard and a range of free activities, including in particular the premiere of the video mapping project on the facade of the building, the former Vapor Aymerich, Amat i Jover textile mill.
The programme of activities will begin at 19:30 hours, with a guided tour of the exhibition "The Textile Factory", the Museum's centrepiece exhibition, presenting the industrial sections of the building and the process of woollen fabric manufacturing in an early 20th century factory. At 21:00 and 24:00 hours, visitors are invited to take part in a nocturnal guided tour of the vaults of the building's modernist ceiling, designed by Lluís Muncunill, and now the home of the Museum. The Museum's historic courtyard will be the venue at 22:00 hours for the premiere of the video mapping project on the building's facade. After the video mapping premiere, at 22:45 hours the film Her (Spike Jonze, 2013) will be screened in the Museum Auditorium.
The video mapping project at the mNACTEC
Video mapping is a technique comprising the projection of images or videos onto buildings and sculptures to achieve 3-D effects by making use of architectural volume. Often accompanied by sound effects, the process turns the surface or object onto which the images are projected into a dynamic video screen. In the case of the mNACTEC project, an audiovisual display featuring four striking clips will be projected onto the windows of the facade corresponding to the steam engine hall. These clips show actions representing the Museum's four key areas of activity:Homo faber, energy, transport and new technologies. The intervening space between the four clips will feature a continuum of images connected with the spirit and theme of the Museum.
This is a looped projection with the aim of drawing public attention to the themes on display at the Museum. It will likewise set the stage for the future bar-cafeteria on the mNACTEC Terrace. The mNACTEC video mapping presentation will be projected at night on special occasions, and regularly during the summer.
The new video mapping initiative forms a part of the Walls of the mNACTEC project, promoted by the Museum with the support of the Department of Culture, and designed by the EDIP (Image and Heritage Educational Space) of La Farinera CAVV, with the collaboration of the CITM/UPC (Catalan Technical University Image and Multimedia Technology Centre). This project focuses on a blended display of images, whether ancient, modern or in motion, projected onto buildings, in this case with the aim of highlighting and raising the profile of the industrial building that houses the mNACTEC, while also embellishing its surrounding context.
Within the context of the Walls of the mNACTEC project, back in January three large-scale photographs connected with the former industrial activity undertaken at the Vapor Aymerich, Amat i Jover, which is now home to the Terrassa Museum, were installed on the outer walls of the complex. The walls have also been equipped with QR codes, allowing mobile devices to obtain information connected with the image on display, as well as the heritage and exhibits on view at the Museum.
13 May 2015
