IN-PERSON ISTANBUL HERITAGE(S)

Abstract

This paper examines large-scale projection-mapping exhibitions as a dominant and increasingly influential form of digital heritage, focusing on Frameless (London) as a critical case study. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and focus-group research, the study investigates how art masterpieces are transformed into cinematic, immersive spectacles and how cultural narratives are constructed through time-based media rather than object-centred display. At Frameless, paintings are re-edited, animated, and spatialised as films, producing a mode of heritage experience that prioritises affect, rhythm, and visual continuity. These characteristics are more commonly associated with film than museum exhibition. Methodologically, the paper combines analytical tools from film studies with Actor–Network Theory to trace how actors such as artworks, digital technologies, curatorial decisions, commercial imperatives, and audience behaviours collectively shape meaning-making in immersive environments. Findings reveal how these socio-technical networks stabilise immersive spectacle as a globally circulating cultural format, influencing public expectations of what heritage exhibitions should be. As museums increasingly seek to learn from the commercial success of immersive galleries, this paper argues that critical study of such models is essential. By unpacking the processes through which immersive experiences are produced and received, the research offers evidence-based insights and recommendations for museums adopting digital media, emphasising the need to balance technological innovation with narrative coherence, historical complexity, and institutional responsibility.