April showers before manic May! Next month we’ll be exhibiting at two major events (see more information below) and all our teams are working behind the scenes on new visitor experiences, which we can’t wait to share soon. As we spring into Spring, there’s is plenty to dive into in this issue, from recent project highlights to what’s been keeping our teams busy across the last few weeks.
Photos: Top: Andrew, our Co-CEO’s trip to our Romanian warehouse with the team there. Below (L–R): Emma Thompson with David, Digital Guide Employee of the Month at Warner Bros. Studio Tour; Rich Wigley and Zachary Bosky at Aintree at Liverpool FC; and the Imagineear booth at SITEM in Paris last month.
Continuing our work exploring the powerful connection between cultural engagement and mental health 🧠🎨
We’re proud to be a key partner in the ORIGIN project—an ambitious academic and clinical study investigating how museum- and collection-led storytelling can positively impact young people’s mental health.
Building on the foundations of Ways of Being, developed during lockdown as part of the OACE programme, ORIGIN takes this work further. The earlier project established a vital evidence base and intervention model; ORIGIN now expands that exploration at scale.
Led by the University of Oxford and the University of Birmingham, in collaboration with the NHS England and a wide network of museums, archives, and academic partners, ORIGIN represents a truly cross-sector effort to drive meaningful investigation.
At the heart of the project is co-creation. Working alongside young people, underrepresented communities, we are helping to shape and produce the ORIGIN experience—an innovative “online museum” that blends storytelling, art, and technology to create accessible, impactful cultural experiences.
This work is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
Read more here and checkout the video:https://imagineear.com/portfolio/origin-ways-of-being/
Inclusive storytelling at a medieval landmark
Our relationship with St Canice’s Cathedral and Round Tower is long standing, and we were delighted to recently return to develop new accessible experiences. This includes an audio description tour on our Piccolo device for blind and visually impaired visitors, alongside Irish Sign Language interpretation for deaf and hard of hearing audiences. A project and partnership we’re especially proud of. ✨Take a look: https://imagineear.com/portfolio/st-canices-cathedral/
Coming up
- 🇺🇸In Philadelphia you’ll find us at the American Alliance of Museums annual meeting and Museum Expo from May 20-23. We are very excited since it is our first year with our new American colleagues Catherine Girardeau and Alex L. Krueger will be joining alongside Petra Brinkhof -de Rijk at our booth 1425. Make sure to stop by! https://annualmeeting.aam-us.org/?_ga=2.225819868.711789422.1776174558-1060622708.1761667865
- 🇬🇧 And in London we will be back at the Museums + Heritage Show on May 13-14. We’ll have our own booth at H6 and there will be showcasing our latest devices, so do stop by for a chat and see what we’ve been working on since last year. https://show.museumsandheritage.com/
- Also focusing on wellbeing 🧘, on May 14 at Verwey Museum Haarlem , Mindful Art Viewing – Attention to the Everyday offers a guided early-morning museum experience combining mindfulness and art. Led by a certified trainer, it invites visitors to slow down and reflect. Get tickets here: https://verweymuseumhaarlem.nl/mindful-kunst-kijken/
