Uploaded December 2014 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
From music to photography, The Arts are vital to our existence. Unique artists are embracing technology to enhance their musical performances and releasing music online without the help of a record label. Society has become obsessed with taking photos. What compels us to point and click so often? What drives a serial tech entrepreneur to decide to become a professional photographer? How has social media changed the way any artist interacts with their fans? How are issues around copyright law and sustainable business models muddling the landscape?
The new Cultural World
In 1964, Marc Chagall completed a remarkable painting for Paris’s Palais Garnier. Unfortunately for art lovers, the painting is difficult to see as it is installed on the ceiling almost 60 feet above the floor.
A few months ago, The Google Cultural Institute digitized Chagall’s work, allowing anyone to zoom in on features previously hidden, from the texture of his brush strokes to the swoop of his signature.
It’s clear technologies no longer play a minor role in democratizing Culture: they have become a major force making it accessible to anyone. How are technologies transforming cultural experiences in museums and online? How can they help museums accomplish their core mission to educate and inspire people? And more profoundly, how are they transforming our relationship with Art and Culture?
Christopher Michel, Photographer, Writer & Entrepreneur
From music to photography, The Arts are vital to our existence. Unique artists are embracing technology to enhance their musical performances and releasing music online without the help of a record label. Society has become obsessed with taking photos. What compels us to point and click so often? What drives a serial tech entrepreneur to decide to become a professional photographer? How has social media changed the way any artist interacts with their fans? How are issues around copyright law and sustainable business models muddling the landscape?
The new Cultural World
In 1964, Marc Chagall completed a remarkable painting for Paris’s Palais Garnier. Unfortunately for art lovers, the painting is difficult to see as it is installed on the ceiling almost 60 feet above the floor.
A few months ago, The Google Cultural Institute digitized Chagall’s work, allowing anyone to zoom in on features previously hidden, from the texture of his brush strokes to the swoop of his signature.
It’s clear technologies no longer play a minor role in democratizing Culture: they have become a major force making it accessible to anyone. How are technologies transforming cultural experiences in museums and online? How can they help museums accomplish their core mission to educate and inspire people? And more profoundly, how are they transforming our relationship with Art and Culture?
Christopher Michel, Photographer, Writer & Entrepreneur
