8 museums from the U.S. and Switzerland, 20 prototypes, 24 months: discover how museums are being reimagined through open-source game design in this online event.
On June 17, 2025, we discovered how museums are being reimagined through open-source game design. During the live Zoom event, Swiss and U.S. collaborators behind Project AMI (Art + Museums Interacting) unpacked how rapid prototyping and cross-border co-creation are turning visitors into active explorers—and transforming how institutions innovate.
Museum educators, interaction designers, and game-studio partners from Switzerland and the United States shared insights from developing 20 open-source game prototypes through Project AMI (Art + Museums Interacting). Built in swift 30-day sprints and refined through public play-tests, the examples showed how gamified experiences transform visitors from passive observers into curious explorers – while offering a process any institution can adopt.
Speakers outlined the concrete advantages of exchanging assets, methodologies, and documentation, pooling resources across borders, and nurturing a growing international learning community. They also explored how open-source practices spark entrepreneurial energy, enabling studios to co-create with museums and keep iterating long after a project’s debut.
A spotlight on Grabbit showcases how ideas flourish across institutions: originally developed by Museum Rietberg, it was later adapted with custom content for SFMOMA – illustrating how ideas travel when tools remain open.
The event was moderated by Muriel Siki followed by a live Q&A. There is an on-demand replay on the ArtTech YouTube channel.
About the ArtTech Foundation
Founded in Switzerland in 2017, the ArtTech Foundation brings together culture, research, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Its mission is to promote and support the cultural and creative industries by leveraging new technologies. With a network of over 2,600 members, including researchers, artists, investors, and entrepreneurs, the Foundation encourages dialogue and collaboration at the intersection of creativity and technology. It supports a wide range of initiatives across sectors such as heritage, audiovisual media, music, interactive content, and the art market, both nationally and internationally. Among its key activities is the ArtTech Prize, an annual international competition aimed at supporting innovative entrepreneurial projects that connect arts, culture, and technology.
About Project AMI (Art + Museums Interacting)
Project AMI is a growing community of museum professionals reimagining visitor engagement through experimentation. Launched by the Max Kohler Foundation in Zurich, AMI brought together eight museums from Switzerland and the U.S. to develop and test 20 interactive, open-source prototypes with the help of Boston-based game design studio FableVision. Guided by five core principles – audience-focused, shifting mindsets, radical sharing, community of action, and playfulness – AMI invites other museums to join the movement by exploring the prototypes or connecting through events and updates.
