Museumweek
When museums closed their doors, Museum Week moved online — and the audio had to carry an entirely virtual experience for 120,000 visitors.
Museum Week without museums
When the pandemic forced Dutch museums to close, the Museumvereniging refused to cancel. Instead, they reimagined Museum Week entirely online, and the sonic identity that Studio ZK had built over the previous years now had to carry an experience that no one could attend in person. The audio needed to feel grounding and familiar, yet open enough to translate to a completely digital world.
Same signature, different world
The strength of having built a robust sonic identity in prior years was that it could flex. We adapted the existing musical language for a campaign format that prioritised connection over spectacle. Keeping the warmth that had become associated with Museum Week, while letting the music carry more emotional weight in a moment when people couldn't physically share space.
Production built to move people at a distance
Musical production
Adapted scoring that kept the Museum Week sonic identity intact while shifting the emotional register to meet the particular weight of 2020.
Post-production
Full audio post for TV and radio spots. The campaign ran on both, reaching people at home in two different listening contexts.
Sound design
Atmospheric sound design that brought a sense of physical museum space into a digital campaign, bridging the gap between screen and gallery.
120,000 people who still showed up
Despite all museums being closed, Museum Week 2020 reached 120,000 unique online visitors. Familiar, warm audio — continuous with previous years — helped make that feel like the real thing.