Interactive Institute › Evoking Spaces

Evoking Spaces, the first company to emerge from the DCH Incubator programme, designs audiovisual experiences for visitors at museums, cultural heritage sites, experience centers and similar visitor attractions. Read more at evokingspaces.com.

Interview with David Nilsson, Evoking Spaces

Description of the process

In the spring of 2006 I got the chance to start my own business with support from the Digital Cultural Heritage Centre of Expertise. The Interactive Salon exhibition at Stockholm City Museum with ICT and cultural heritage projects was planned for late 2006 and I saw this as a concrete first assignment to build my business on. I wrote a business plan and I also applied for a start-up loan from the job centre. I received funding for six months, which was a welcome start and helped me to focus on important things without worrying too much about surviving the first period.

The first business idea for my company was to serve as a bridge between research and the cultural heritage community. That idea is still a part of my business plan even though it has developed a lot since the start and has expanded to include other markets than the cultural heritage market.

The Incubator programme didn’t just give me a work space, it also provided me with the opportunity to work in projects initiated by the Centre and the Incubator. This was very good since the most important and most difficult task for a new business is to get assignments.

So from the early start, the Incubator programme supplied me with office space, meeting rooms, network and possibility to work in projects initiated by the Incubator or external assignments through the programme. All this and with the funding support from the job centre for the first six months, the start up and development phase were made much easier for me compared to starting completely on my own.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:
- Great access to a large network of knowledge and competences through the Interactive Institute
- Creative environment
- Free access to a workspace, meeting rooms, Internet and printers. This also allowed me to invest more in the business itself.
- Attending events, meetings and workshops through the Incubator programme, the Interactive Institute and other associating partners
- Expert help in the form of business coaching and other supporting activities like meetings and discussions about the market, progress of the company and projects

Disadvantages:
- Lack of other companies in incubator to share thoughts, problems and success with
- Protected environment, which is both good and bad, but for me it would have been helpful with more information and understanding of the “real” market in the beginning of the programme.

Some key projects

- The first project that I was involved in with Evoking Spaces was the Interactive Salon exhibition. It was the first assignment as a project manager and responsible for the exhibition design. I learned a lot and worked with lot of different people from university, research and industry. The exhibition was displayed at Stockholm City museum for six months and was then rebuilt to a mobile exhibition that toured Budapest, Prague, Paestum and Brighton. I worked on the design and transformation of the exhibition and was also responsible for the setting up of and support for the exhibition in Budapest, Prague and Brighton.

- In the autumn of 2007, the Centre received an invitation to the Universal Forum of Cultures in Monterrey, Mexico. I produced a new version of the interactive carpet Touch of Kandinsky for the event since the one shown in Interactive Salon was stolen (and later found). I installed the exhibit and presented the Interactive Institute together with Performing Pictures in Monterrey, Mexico for the opening.

- In the spring 2007, the Centre, in collaboration with Evoking Spaces and Performing Pictures, started to develop a new museum installation that aimed to bring new life to the motif of a 1700th century painting and to present an interpretation of the painting in a fun, pedagogical way. The result was the successful prototype Electro Bacchanalia.

- Evoking Spaces now has the right to commercialize the prototype and the first major productions outside the Interactive Institute for Evoking Spaces is an installation for Stockholm City Museum that it based on the principles of Electro Bacchanalia.

Skills learned

- Project management and coordination
- Writing a business plan
- Extensive knowledge about the cultural heritage market
- Communicate properly with customers and cooperating partners in speech and texts

Networking events/workshops attended

1. A series on workshops were held at Interactive Salon during 2006. Below are the workshops I attended: Forum för Levande Historia, 7th of November; Historiska Museet on 16th of November; Polismuseet 22nd of November; Network of Expertise Centres (NoEC) 27th of November.

2. I presented NODEM and Electro Bacchanalia was exhibited at the Best in Heritage - Excellence Club in Cologne as a part of the Cologne Fine Art fair 2007, in October 2007.

4. Museernas vårsmöte 07 at Moderna Museet: Presentation of the EPOCH project ARC 3D Webservice.

5. Museernas vårsmöte 08 at the Interactive Institute: Presentation and demonstration of the Lumolog Peep Box project.

6. Workshop with Rick Pedolsky from aMuze Interactive early 2008. Rick shared his knowledge and experience from the industry and the cultural heritage sector.

7. Workshop with Mikael Karlsson, business developer and former CEO for Touch and Turn early 2008. Mikael shared his knowledge and experience from the cultural heritage sector and from the time he was CEO for Touch of Turn. This workshop resulted in an ongoing business coach programme supported by the Incubator. I have met with Mikael three times and will continue to have regular meetings with him, with the goal to speed up Evoking Spaces development phase, produce a full business plan and to coach in important questions that arise when developing a business.

Future Plans

My focus for Evoking Spaces is now on the development of a product and/or service based on the results of Electro Bacchanalia prototype.