European culture is rich in fantastic creatures, mythological beings that transport us to a world of fantasy. And from museums and historic buildings, they now move to the Centre d’Art Amatller, which has opened an immersive exhibition entirely dedicated to them. You can now buy your tickets here.
The experience, called La biblioteca fantàstica de les bèsties(The Fantastic Library of Beasts), is designed by Layers or Reality, a pioneering studio in audiovisual content and extended reality (currently, also in Barcelona, we can enjoy their Leonardo Versus Michelangelo experience and the MEV, Museu d’Art Medieval). Together, they have brought the medieval bestiary to life with a spectacular exhibition that combines fun with education.
What will we find in La biblioteca fantàstica de les bèsties?
La biblioteca fantàstica de les bèsties makes the most of the 10 rooms at Centre d’Art Amatller. We will learn about the history of these expressive and colorful creatures, how they emerged in medieval art and buildings, and how they became a very important figure in the culture of that period.
The exhibition rooms combine more traditional formats with others in which the viewer interacts. For example, in the immersive room measuring more than 300m2, nine of these incredible beasts (such as the phoenix, the dragon, and the harpy) will look majestic in the film Bestiario inmersivo (Immersive Bestiary), and we will be able to see them even closer in a VR360º virtual reality experience.
In addition, young and old alike will enjoy an interactive room in sketch & post format that allows us to create our own beast, which will come to life on a huge screen. The other rooms will offer much more context and information about these creatures, which hundreds of years after their creation continue to inspire the creation of fantastic characters in film, comics, literature, and all kinds of artistic expressions.