Interactive Picturebooks: Museum & Children Interactions in Istanbul
Title: Interacting with Museum Content Through Picturebooks: A Study of Children’s Engagement with Orientalist Paintings in Pera Museum, Istanbul
Team: Betül Gaye Dinç, Özge Subaşı, Ilgım Veryeri Alaca (with: Artistic Research Studio, Pera Museum)
Timeframe: 2019-2020
This study investigates the possibilities of an interactive picturebook in fostering children’s exposure to artworks featured in a permanent exhibit presenting historic content through the material, narrative, aesthetic affordances of this format via using hands-on and bodily engagements. We prototyped an interactive picturebook for the Pera Museum Orientalist Paintings Collection, describing the cultural, aesthetic and historical implications of the artworks from different eras to arouse the child’s interest. 7 children aged 9-10 years old interacted with the artworks using the prototype during their museum visit. Our results show the challenges and benefits of the interactions based on the ability of the narratives extracted on the selected collection to challenge children in critical thinking while rising their engagement with the artworks