Unframed Collection is a partner of Numix Lab, a touring event in Europe that each year takes professionals and experts in immersive creation to meet the cultural centres of the host countries. In 2024, Germany welcomed 250 people, with an intense week of exchanges and discoveries between Munich, Leipzig and Berlin!
To mark the occasion, we met Nathalie Keurmeur, Digital Curator, Department Digital Structures and Products, Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss.
The place of immersive experiences within the Humboldt Forum
Nathalie Keurmeur – My name is Nathalie Keurmeur, and I’ve been part of the digital team at the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss for almost ten years now. The Humboldt Forum is located in the centre of Berlin and houses five institutions: the Museum of Ethnology, the Asian Art Museum, the Berlin City Museum (with a temporary exhibition), the University of Berlin and the Humboldt Forum Foundation, of which I am a member. It’s a museum space, but also a space where we present dance, theatre, film, music and soon digital experiences.
N. K. – The forum can host immersive experiences, for example within our permanent exhibitions (for example, a dome on the theme of the Silk Road, or a large panorama on the history of the site), but we work mainly on temporary exhibitions that allow us to work on the place of new experiences, with new perspectives.
N. K. – In 2024, we had two temporary immersive exhibitions. There was Loot. 10 Stories (22 March to 26 January 2025), an exhibition that combines traditional displays of object with VR experience. There are three objects that you can actually experience or see in virtual reality. The second immersive experience is Palace of Memory, a mixed reality experience.
N. K. – This experience can be enjoyed by up to ten people at the same time, for a visit of the Palace of the Republic in Berlin, which was in fact the building that housed the Humboldt Forum. It’s an opportunity to discover the palace, presenting it in an abstract way, and to have the experience of remembering the Palace of the Republic from a historical point of view in mixed reality. It’s a bit complex to describe, so the best thing is to come and see it for yourself!
Imagining the immersive experience for visitors
N. K. – Our immersive experiences are a different way of conveying knowledge, because they often appeal more to the emotions. You really see something, so you’re more moved by the subject. They’re also more interactive experiences that really engage visitors, and formats that we don’t necessarily expect to see in museums. For us, it’s a lot of work to rethink the image of museums, which are more than just objects in display cases. They can also be perfectly interactive places!
N. K. – For us, the museum of tomorrow is a place open to different art forms and different audiences, where the programme and events are just as important as the exhibitions. This is to some extent the definition of the forum that we are working on at the Humboldt Forum Foundation. Imagining a place of life and interaction.
The Numix Lab, a real experience
N. K. – It’s great for networking, an exceptional and unique way of meeting lots of colleagues over a fairly concentrated period. So it’s really great. You have to take part!
Photo © Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss / Sebastian Bolesch
