IN-PERSON Barcelona. Section B

Abstract

This research takes a more in-depth look at the relationship between authenticity and the presence of technology in museums. This study investigates how the Ithra museum in Saudi Arabia is utilising innovative digital solutions to heighten and enrich the experience of its visitors. Some researchers strongly believe that the digitalisation of artefacts erodes their originality and the true value of cultural heritage, thereby undermining the ability of museums when it comes to preserving cultural heritage and asserting national identity. To achieve this, this work evaluated the notion of authenticity from a quantitative perspective, aiming to analyse visitors’ perception of authenticity at Ithra museum by using a closed-ended questionnaire. This involved collecting data from March to June 2023 at Ithra museum in Dhahran in western Saudi Arabia. Tthe research examines visitors’ notions of the authenticity of digital objects in the museum and enriches the contemporary discussion by problematising digital objects’ aura and the authenticity of the cultural experience in the digital age, in comparison to their physical counterparts. The research draws on the theories of authenticity and materialism, which will suggest a nuanced role for authenticity in digital objects at Ithra museum from the visitors’ perspective. These theories offer knowledge and understanding of authenticity and how it affects the digital items housed in the museum. Moreover, the distinction between materialist and constructivist approaches to authenticity is examined here to shed light on the ways that digital objects may retain the quality of authenticity, despite their distance from the original. Ithra is a good case-study for considering the authenticity in its digital artefacts because it is a leading cultural institution in the world for Islamic and Arabic culture and uses its digital collection’s systems in the museum for displaying and preserving the cultural heritage.