Javier Sainz de los Terreros is the digital communication manager at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain. He first took on the role in 2012 and is responsible for the museum’s digital communication strategy and social media streams. His digital content went viral in 2017 when his series of intimate and informal walks around the museum, filmed just using a selfie stick, was featured in the New York Times. These videos featured Sainz de los Terreros and his colleagues talking about their favourite works of art in the museum.
Speaking to blooloop about the global attention that his videos garnered, he said:
“It was the beginning of video, really,” he says. “It was the era of Periscope, which was the live-streaming app that paved the way for other live-streaming platforms like Facebook Live, Instagram Live, Twitch, and so on. We were just experimenting with this new tool, and people responded very positively. So then we started with Instagram.
“The idea was that it is a privilege for a museum worker to be able to walk through the museum when it’s empty and to be alone in front of the masterpieces. It was a feeling I wanted to share with people, in a way that they would almost be able to smell the place and hear their footsteps echoing. It’s very special, and I wanted them to be able to experience that.
“We gave a voice to all kinds of people. Normally, when you see these interviews, they are by an expert, explaining down to the less knowledgeable. But usually, people who visit museums aren’t experts. They’re tourists or people who just want to enjoy something cultural. It needn’t be paintings; it could be theatre or music. Their view, and how they interpret the art, is valuable, too. We wanted to highlight that value. There isn’t only one way to look at art.”