The #InGoya immersive exhibition offered audiences a new way to experience the art of Francisco de Goya, combining ultra-high-resolution scans of his works with immersive soundscapes and a fully interactive display system. As consultants on this project, we worked closely with the creative and curatorial teams to develop a technology system that seamlessly presented Goya’s artwork in stunning detail, while allowing curators to control the visuals in real-time, providing a personalised and dynamic visitor experience.
This system enabled the display of more than 200 works by Goya, using state-of-the-art projection technology to deliver a truly immersive experience. Visitors were transported into Goya’s world through not only the vivid, high-resolution visuals but also a surrounding classical soundtrack that enhanced the emotional depth of the exhibition.
The InGoya immersive exhibition reimagined how audiences experience the work of Francisco de Goya — one of the most significant painters in the history of Western art. Created in 2020, the exhibition combined ultra-high-resolution scans of more than 200 of Goya’s works with state-of-the-art projection technology, immersive classical soundscapes, and a real-time curatorial control system that allowed the exhibition experience to be personalised and adapted for each audience.
ex1t.one joined the project as technology consultants, working closely with the creative and curatorial teams to develop and implement the systems that brought InGoya to life. The result was an exhibition that transported visitors into Goya’s world with a depth and sensory richness that traditional gallery presentation could not achieve.
InGoya
Table of Contents
Reimagining Francisco de Goya Through Ultra-High-Resolution Immersive Projection
At the heart of InGoya was a commitment to preserving the integrity of Goya’s art whilst making it accessible and emotionally resonant in an entirely new way. Ultra-high-resolution scanning of the original works captured every brushstroke, texture, and tonal nuance that conventional reproduction loses. These scans formed the visual foundation of the exhibition, projected at a scale that allowed visitors to encounter details invisible to the naked eye in a traditional gallery setting.
More than 200 works were presented across the exhibition, spanning Goya’s full career — from his early tapestry cartoons and royal portraits through to the haunting Black Paintings of his later years. The chronological and thematic breadth of the selection gave visitors a genuine understanding of Goya’s artistic evolution and the historical context in which he worked, communicated not through text panels but through the works themselves, presented at immersive scale.
The projection system was designed to maintain absolute colour fidelity across large-format surfaces, ensuring that the emotional character of each painting — the warmth of his early court works, the darkness of his war paintings, the raw expressionism of his final period — was faithfully conveyed throughout the exhibition space.
Real-Time Curatorial Control: Personalising the Exhibition Experience
One of InGoya’s defining innovations was its real-time curatorial control system — a dynamic interface that allowed curators and exhibition staff to adjust the visual and narrative programme live, adapting the experience to different audience groups, tour schedules, and thematic focuses throughout the day.
Rather than running a fixed, pre-programmed sequence, the InGoya system gave curators the ability to move between works, alter the pacing of transitions, introduce contextual narrative layers, and respond to the specific interests of the visitors present. This flexibility transformed the exhibition from a passive viewing experience into a guided journey shaped in real time by human curatorial judgement.
The practical implications were significant. A school group visiting in the morning could receive a programme focused on Goya’s historical context and accessible early works, whilst an evening audience of art professionals could be guided through a more in-depth thematic exploration of his later periods. The same physical exhibition space supported fundamentally different experiences without any technical reconfiguration between visits.
- Goals:
◦ Seamlessly present Goya’s artwork in ultra-high resolution, preserving every detail.
◦ Integrate immersive soundscapes and visuals to enhance audience engagement.
◦ Enable curators to personalise the exhibition experience in real-time. - Production:
◦ Collaborated on a system for ultra-high-resolution scans of Goya’s paintings.
◦ Integrated a dynamic curatorial script allowing real-time control of visuals and narratives.
◦ Combined visuals with classical soundtracks to create an emotional and sensory-rich environment. - Results:
◦ Enhanced engagement and understanding of Goya’s art through immersive storytelling.
◦ Thematic presentation that evoked emotional resonance with visitors.
◦ Widespread acclaim for blending technology with fine art.
Immersive Soundscapes: Classical Music as a Narrative Layer
Alongside the visual experience, InGoya incorporated a carefully curated classical soundtrack that surrounded visitors throughout the exhibition space. Music was not incidental to the experience but integral to it — selected and programmed to complement the emotional and thematic character of the works on display at each moment.
As visitors moved through different periods of Goya’s career, the soundscape shifted accordingly, reinforcing the emotional transitions between his optimistic early works, the turbulent middle period shaped by his illness and the Peninsular War, and the deeply introspective final works painted during his voluntary exile in Bordeaux. The result was a multisensory environment in which image and sound worked together to create an emotional depth that neither could achieve independently.
This approach to sound design reflected a broader philosophy behind InGoya: that immersive art exhibitions should engage the full range of human perception, not merely the visual. By treating the soundtrack as a curatorial tool with the same weight as the projected imagery, InGoya created an experience that lingered with visitors long after they had left the exhibition space.
Technology Consultancy: ex1t.one’s Role in the InGoya Project
ex1t.one’s involvement in InGoya was as technology consultants embedded within the creative and curatorial team. This role required a balance between technical expertise and creative sensitivity — the systems we designed and implemented had to serve the artistic vision of the exhibition without imposing technological complexity on the curatorial process.
Our work encompassed the architecture of the projection and content management system, the real-time curatorial control interface, and the integration of the visual and audio elements into a coherent, reliable technical infrastructure. Throughout the project, close collaboration with the curatorial team ensured that every technical decision was evaluated against its impact on the visitor experience rather than its technical elegance alone.
InGoya demonstrated the value of bringing technology consultancy into the creative process at an early stage. By understanding the curatorial objectives from the outset, we were able to design systems that genuinely served the exhibition’s ambitions rather than constraining them — a principle that informs ex1t.one’s approach to every immersive and experiential project we undertake.
Related Immersive Cultural and Exhibition Projects
Explore more immersive cultural and experiential projects from ex1t.one:
- Hexagon 270° Immersive Theatre – Real-time interactive showroom experience in the Netherlands
- Commonwealth Games Perry’s Trail – Real-time interactive activation across Birmingham for Birmingham 2022
- Ocean Outdoor Virtual Studio – Real-time broadcast environment expanding audience reach by 500%
ex1t.one’s Approach to Immersive Cultural Experiences
ex1t.one works with cultural institutions, galleries, and exhibition producers to develop immersive experiences that honour their subject matter whilst embracing the full potential of contemporary technology. Our approach combines narrative sensitivity with deep technical expertise — ensuring that the systems we build serve the story rather than overpower it.
InGoya is a strong example of what becomes possible when technology consultancy and curatorial vision work in genuine collaboration. The exhibition did not use technology to replace the experience of encountering Goya’s art — it used technology to deepen that encounter, making works more accessible, more emotionally resonant, and more memorable for every visitor who passed through the space.
For further context on immersive art exhibitions and the use of technology in cultural institutions, visit the Museums Association’s digital resources.