#BigArtRide – a European virtual reality tour!

Cycle through Europe with #BigArtRide, a virtual tour through Europe with virtual reality, art… and cycling!

During the months april, may, june and july of 2016, two DROPSTUFF MEDIA-trailers with LED-screens and a bike-installation visited numerous European capitals. Players in those cities could mount a bike while wearing a VR-headset. When both players were ready, they would have a real-time bike-race against each other through a virtual, futuristic city environment filled with European artworks. The bikers, who in the real world were thousand of miles apart, could now enjoy their mutual cultural heritage.

Minister Jet Bussemaker opened the project in April 2016 on ‘Het Plein’ in The Hague.

The Goal? To finish first

The audience can help the cyclists by giving them extra speed with the use of a big interactive bicycle pump and bell. When the race is over, the participants can see each other ‘real life’ through webcams.

This unique and interactive project creates unexpected virtual and real-life encounters and builds a virtual bridge through Europe. All the member states of the European Union are represented with their most important works of art, as part of the Europeana 280 project.

City which adjusts itself to the creativity of its citizens

The architecture of the virtual city is inspired by the concept of CoBrA-artist and architect Constant Nieuwenhuis and his project “New Babylon”. His vision on the city of the future is a layered and adaptive city which adjusts itself to the creativity of its citizens. The city of #BigArtRide contains artworks from 28 EU-member states and Norway which – as part of the Europeana 280 project – were each asked to submit ten artworks.

The transgressing Europeana 280 project project celebrates the diversion of the joint European cultural heritage. The submitted artworks are processed in the city of the future, and connects European cultural heritage to the future.

#BigArtRide – the European Tour was initiated by DROPSTUFF MEDIA in collaboration with Europeana, the organization tasked with making European cultural heritage digitally accessible to everyone, the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision and Embassies of the Kingdom of The Netherlands across Europe as part of the Dutch presidency of the EU in 2016. #BigArtRide is a new cultural media project that connects citizens from all over Europe in a unique VR-cycling game. Cycle through the city of the future, filled with shared cultural heritage!