[A new presence-evoking virtual art exhibition was unveiled at the recent NEXT IN Summit event in Madrid, to illustrate and generate discussions about how museums and other institutions can better help audiences connect with art and cultural heritage. The story is from designboom, where the original includes six more images. For a related story, see a November 2023 post in ISPR Presence News post featuring an essay by then-Middle East Director of ACCIONA Cultura. –Matthew]

ACCIONA’s NEXT IN Summit 2025 brings Prado’s paintings to life with virtual reality tour

By Lisa Kostyra
May 9, 2025

Shaping the Future of Cultural Spaces at NEXT IN Summit 2025

On April 23-24, 2025, at the ACCIONA Campus, the second edition of the NEXT IN Summit, hosted by ACCIONA Living & Culture, brought together global leaders in museology, architecture, and art. Inaugurated in the presence of Madrid’s mayor, José Luis Martínez Almeida, the event highlighted best practices in cultural space design, management, and innovation. Esteemed figures such as architect David Chipperfield, Glenn D. Lowry, director of MoMA, digital artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, and Mariët Westermann, director and CEO of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, led discussions on the future of cultural institutions, delving into topics like sustainability in museums, the convergence of physical and digital experiences, and how immersive technologies are reshaping cultural engagement.

A key moment came with the unveiling of ‘Art Masters: A Virtual Reality Experience,’ a cutting-edge VR exhibition created by ACCIONA Living & Culture in collaboration with the Museo Nacional del Prado. This immersive project sparked conversations about how virtual reality can transform the way audiences connect with art and cultural heritage.

ACCIONA Living & Culture blends urbanism and art

As part of the global ACCIONA group, ACCIONA Living & Culture is a global leader in combining urbanism with cultural development to create projects that positively impact communities worldwide. Known for its ability to craft narrative-rich projects that preserve and elevate artistic heritage, the company partnered with the Prado Museum to design and produce ‘Art Masters: A Virtual Reality Experience.’ Supported by Chinese technology firm TDG Holding Co, the collaboration integrates original material from the museum’s collection with advanced VR storytelling, under the academic curatorship of Alejandro Vergara, head of Conservation of Flemish Painting and Northern Schools at the Prado.

Art Masters: A Virtual Reality Experience at Prado Museum

With ‘Art Masters,’ Acciona Living & Culture crafted an imaginary museum space where visitors interact with seven of the Prado Museum’s most emblematic works using VR technology. The exhibition offers an academic yet accessible journey through masterpieces including Las Meninas by Velázquez, The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch, Venus and Adonis by Veronese, The Sense of Sight by Rubens and Brueghel the Elder, and Witches’ Sabbath by Goya. These iconic paintings are contextualized through immersive narratives that reveal hidden details and historical insights, enhancing the understanding of each work.

The virtual experience is guided by a fictional museum security guard on his last day of work, who leads visitors through a sequence of real and imagined spaces. Participants become active agents in the journey — pushing open doors, stepping into elevators, and exploring unseen corners of the museum. The experience culminates in interactive sequences where figures from Bosch’s ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’ appear to step out of the painting, immersing viewers in a vivid, surreal realm.

Spanning 35 minutes, the exhibition offers a unique blend of storytelling, visual engagement, and scholarly interpretation, setting a precedent for how institutions can merge technology with cultural education. After its debut in Madrid, the experience is scheduled to travel to Shanghai and Chengdu in mid-2025, further fostering international dialogue on the evolving role of cultural heritage.

Towards inclusive and hybrid museum models

Throughout the NEXT IN summit, a shared vision emerged: museums are no longer static repositories but active spaces that respond to the needs of contemporary society. For Juan Ignacio Entrecanales, vice-chairman of ACCIONA, this means embracing inclusivity, sustainability, and openness to the public, reshaping how cultural institutions engage with their communities. Glenn D. Lowry expanded on this idea by advocating for cultural institutions that encourage cross-pollination across cultures and disciplines, moving beyond traditional silos. Rather than focusing solely on technological advances, Mariët Westermann argued, the future of museums will depend on their ability to speak a common language of radical inclusion, one that resonates deeply with younger generations.

These reflections resonate with ACCIONA Living & Culture’s own approach, as the company champions projects that invite participation and broaden access. As David Chipperfield noted, the arts have an essential role as a bridge between past and future—a notion mirrored in efforts to open up collections and spaces, such as the Prado Museum’s expansion at the Casón del Buen Retiro, which will make previously unseen works available to the public.

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Project Info:
Event: NEXT IN Summit 2025

Organizer: ACCIONA Living & Culture | @accionacultura
Exhibition: Art Masters: A Virtual Reality Experience
Collaborator: Museo Nacional del Prado | @museoprado