Snapchat and Versailles bring history to life with interactive AR experience
Snapchat has teamed up with the Palace of Versailles to launch a unique interactive art project that brings history to life using augmented reality (AR). This new in-app experience allows visitors to explore the famous French palace gardens while viewing virtual recreations of the baroque dances that once enlivened the royal court.
According to Snap,
“Snapchat and the Palace of Versailles are partnering to offer a unique cultural experience in augmented reality: Dansez Versailles. Thanks to Snapchat’s cutting-edge technologies, visitors to the Palace gardens are invited to rediscover the baroque festivities and dances that enlivened the Royal Court through AR. Through an immersive, fun, and educational journey, history comes to life in the heart of the gardens.”
Bringing History to Life with AR
The project features several stations throughout the gardens, each showcasing a specific dance connected to that location. Visitors can see these dances through Snapchat’s AR camera, effectively stepping back in time and experiencing the palace’s original atmosphere.
The goal of Dansez Versailles is to “restore the gardens of the Palace to their original function: a space for life, pleasure, and spectacle. By leveraging the immersive possibilities of AR, four emblematic places in the gardens become scenes of artistic reconstruction, where each space reveals an iconic dance of the era, allowing visitors to the Palace to step into the shoes of a dancer of the time.”
Snapchat’s Growing Presence in France
This launch fits into Snapchat’s broader mission to blend art and technology, as the company has previously worked on digital art projects with major museums like The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco (FAMSF), as well as collaborations with renowned artists such as Jeffrey Koons and Damien Hirst.
Snapchat is also focused on strengthening its presence in France, which is its largest market in the European Union with 27 million users. The company recently opened a new office in Paris to better tap into local opportunities. This AR art project is another step toward cementing Snapchat’s role in France’s cultural and interactive scene.
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