Brett Renfer

Brett Renfer is an experience designer and maker, with a focus on narrative-rich, architectural-scale responsive environments. As Senior Project Manager, Emerging Technology at The Met, Brett is helping the institution collaboratively explore and define the future of the museum.

Brett has over 15 years of experience in interactive media in both the cultural and corporate sectors. Past clients include NASA, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, Intel, and the Folger Shakespeare Library. Accolades for Brett’s work include awards from the IxDA, SEGD, Communication Arts, Cannes, and Museums and the Web.

Brett Renfer will be speaking at the Museum Digital Summit 2026 :

Designing Story-Driven Virtual Exhibitions

In 2025, The Met and Atopia launched Dendur Decoded and Oceania: A New Horizon of Space and Time – The Met’s first VR exhibitions built as story-driven virtual worlds, not just tours. Visitors step inside the Temple of Dendur or a Pacific-inspired landscape, exploring 3D-scanned works through movement, sound, games and interpretation on the web or in a headset.

This session looks past the technology to what the team learned: how to combine game-like mechanics with curatorial storytelling, design choices to keep audiences engaged, and patterns other museums can adapt for digital experiences.