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Am I automatically part of an AR exhibition?

On the online platform, you can show yourself and your art to a wide audience. You can leave it at that. We won’t just use your artwork for an AR exhibition without your permission. We will ask you beforehand. Before a concrete exhibition takes place, we will contact you directly. You can then explicitly agree or decline.

Do I have to upload a 3D file of my object?

No, first and foremost it is about the representation of your art with the possibilities you have. For example, you can upload photos and videos. If you have a 3-D file or if you are familiar with photogrammetry, great! Feel free to upload 3-D files. If not – no problem at all. As soon as an exhibition is coming up that you can participate in, we will contact you. And if necessary, we will help you with the digitisation. 

Do I have to pay to participate?

No, your use of the online platform is free of charge. Even if you take part in an AR exhibition, it won’t cost you anything.  

Do I get paid for being shown in an AR exhibition?

We provide the technology for AR exhibitions, establish contacts with e.g. museums, curate the exhibitions, take care of the advertising online and offline. We give you that as a gift. If you incur costs for your participation in an exhibition, we will try to find a solution together. Of course, it’s our goal to pay a fair amount to everybody involved. But fees and rights management need to be discussed for each exhibition individually. And we'll do that together with you as soon as the time comes.  

Will my work be shown against my will?

Definitely not! There are two goals to this project: 1) Connecting African and Black artists and exhibitors. 2) Setting up exhibitions in select locations around the world, starting with the first exhibition in Germany. If an exhibitor is interested in showing your artwork, we will get in contact with you and discuss terms and conditions with you. You can always say no.  

Am I granting any legal rights to you?

There are some rights that must be granted in order for us to maintain the service of this platform – essentially, the right to display images of your artwork on this website. That’s basically it.

We have implemented a visibility management feature on this platform. This means you can hide your images from the public at any time. It is up to you. Also, we don’t own any rights to your original artwork or anything you put on here. It’s all yours.  

What is your task in this?

We’re glad you asked. We would like to see exciting AR exhibitions by African and Black artists be held. The exhibitions can take place anywhere around the globe. Although we are working a lot for this, we won’t be able to do it alone. We need artists who are as committed to this project as we are, and we will need exhibitors who can see the unique power a digital exhibition can develop in a real environment.

Our task – besides the entire technical development – is to network everyone and pull out all the stops for our idea. Likewise, we curate the exhibition and enter into creative dialogue with artists so that we can create unique exhibitions together.  

I have questions, where can I turn?

Just drop us an email at questions@arxafrica.net. Please write in English as our French skills are not worth mentioning. 

How to achieve good 3-D photogrammetry results?

When it comes to good 3-D results via photogrammetry, the photos of your objects are crucial. Here are 12 important tips for taking photos and one hint for rendering 3-D models.

Taking photographs

  1. Use a digital viewfinder camera or a digital SLR camera to take photos of your objects.
  2. As a rule, the best lens to use is a normal lens. For large objects, you can use a lens with a slightly wide angle.
  3. Set the camera to high-resolution JPG (approx. 4,240 x 2,832 pixels).
  4. The object must be neutrally illuminated (no direct sunlight). Therefore, place the object in the shade or shade it using sheets. If possible, use reflectors to brighten up the dark side of the object.
  5. Do not change the lighting situation (e.g. daylight lamps, reflectors) during the entire series of pictures.
  6. The object must not be moved under any circumstances during the entire shooting sequence.
  7. Shoot in manual mode and do not change the exposure settings during the entire series (average).
  8. Shoot with aperture 11-22.
  9. Shoot with short exposure times (min. 250/s).
  10. Photographs are best taken at a parallel angle to the vertical orientation of the object. For large objects, a boom and remote release can help.
  11. Circle the object at different height positions and take photos roughly every 10°.
  12. Photograph the object from above as well.

 

Rendering

For photogrammetry rendering, the creation of 3-D models from the photos, we recommend the free open-source software Meshroom.

Useful tutorials are available here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D0EhSi-vvc&t=3s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_O6tYKQEBA&t=3s

What kind of art is on display?

There are no restrictions on the types of art as long as they are fine arts. Painting, sculpture, digital formats – anything goes. Both as part of an exhibition and on the platform.

How do the artworks become digital? And how will they be shown?

When it comes to sculptures or objects, for example, the works are scanned three-dimensionally. The 3-D data is processed and fed into our browser-based application for AR exhibitions on site. Markers in the exhibition environment and GPS data trigger the digitised artworks. They appear exactly where they are supposed to appear. In addition, the digitised artworks are shown three-dimensionally on the online platform.

I’m an artist, how can I participate?

ARXAFRICA focuses on contemporary art by African and Black artists. That is the condition. We look forward to hearing from you if you would like to show your art as part of an AR exhibition and/or on the platform. Simply register, upload photos of your work, videos or digital formats. Also, write a few words about yourself. FAQ for artists can be found here: click!

I have an exhibition space. Can the exhibition also be shown here or is everything already set?

The project has already gained momentum. We are in talks with art and cultural institutions for the first exhibition in Germany, and many artists have already confirmed their participation.  As we intend to create the framework for further exhibitions with ARXAFRICA: feel free to contact us at any time! Even if you do not represent an institute or institution, but are planning an interesting event, for example.

I represent a museum in Africa. How can we cooperate?

There are four possibilities: 1. We are currently designing the first AR exhibition in Germany. If you would like to exhibit works from your collection in this context, please write to us. 2. Get in touch if you would like to support us with scanning logistics in Africa. 3. In the long term, we are creating the conditions for further exhibitions – also in Africa. Please write to us as well if this is interesting for you. 4. Last but not least, we would be happy to add you to our platform database.

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