Met Museum's Digital Strategy Post-Pandemic

Sofie Andersen, digital strategist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, discusses the museum's digital transformation accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, economic challenges, and social justice movements. She emphasizes that digital is no longer a separate department but essential to the museum's mission. The Met's Open Access program, launched nearly five years ago by Loic Tallon, provides free access to 240,000 artworks and 409,000 images under Creative Commons, reaching over 250 million people annually via Wikipedia, Microsoft's FlipGrid, and Animal Crossing. During the 2020 lockdown, the museum focused on its permanent collection online, seeing spikes in the Timeline of Art History and Met Kids content. Andersen advocates for a holistic 'hybrid museum' approach integrating online and in-person experiences. She highlights the Met Stories video series, conceived for the museum's 150th anniversary, which amplified emotional connections during the pandemic. She recommends the book and exhibition 'Art as Therapy' by Alain de Botton and John Armstrong for its accessible take on art's transformative power.