New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has launched an app called Replica that lets guests turn artworks into digital accessories in the Roblox online game via augmented reality (AR).
Created in partnership with Verizon, the app includes a digital guide to artworks around the Met. Users can scan these objects and transform them into collectibles in Roblox. These will then appear in the user’s inventory for their avatar to use as accessories.
Kristin McHugh, SVP of marketing and creative at Verizon, said the app was created “as an experience to connect people to art in a new and culturally relevant way”. The company’s technology “can help bridge gaming and art, creating new possibilities for art education”, she added.
Each wearable accessory in Replica, including Vincent van Gogh’s straw hat from his Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat (1887), offers information about the work and its history.
The digital accessories were all inspired by art from the museum’s collection of 1.5 million objects. Highlights in Replica include:
- Statuette of Anubis (332–30 B.C.)
- Perseus with the Head of Medusa (1804–6)
- Prince Holding a Falcon (ca. 1820)
- Marble capital and finial in the form of a Sphinx (ca. 530 B.C.)
- Reaching Jaguar (1906–7; cast 1926)
- Vase with Rabbits (late 16th century)
- Helmet (Zukinnari Kabuto, 16th century)
- Armor of Henry II, King of France (ca. 1555)
Roblox avatars wearing art accessories
“This groundbreaking app brings artwork from the Met’s illustrious collection into the virtual realm of Roblox, transforming the way visitors engage with art and crafting a captivating, fun, and truly unique journey through the museum,” said Max Hollein, the Met’s director and CEO.
“Replica is a testament to the Met’s ambitious exploration of educational initiatives that inspire playful connections with art in the museum as well as in the digital realm.”
Roblox users can also experience a virtual version of the Met’s facade on Fifth Avenue, and other spaces within the museum. The Replica app can be downloaded for free on iOS and Android devices.
