Esme Garlake

Having studied Spanish and Italian at University of Cambridge at undergraduate level, Esme completed a Masters in History of Art at The Courtauld, where she specialised in 16th-century Roman art. She currently works as Communications and Social Media Manager at Athena Art Foundation. Esme has a particular interest in ecocritical art history, and what this approach can teach us about historical relationships between humans and the natural world.

MuseumNext Digital Exhibitions Summit
Monday, 5th December 2022

Living Portraits: Bringing Portraiture to Life

Living Portraits brings historic artworks to life using technology and theatricality while retaining the historic authenticity. We will talk about the first portrait in the series, Jem Belcher, a butcher turned boxer from the 19th century, who we brought to life to better understand whether hearing his experience directly can change the perceptions of unengaged audiences to historic artworks. This talk, delivered by a collaborative team from Athena Arts Foundation, Megaverse and the National Portrait Gallery, will look at the motivations behind the project, the technology used, the audience impact from the project and what we hope to do next.

Find the full schedule here