ABSTRACT
With the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (Sars-CoV-2) and the ensuing demand for measures of social distancing and isolation as a means to prevent contagion, museums had to face a number of new challenges that impacted their lives and their relationship with the audience. With the use of virtual media as the only channel for museums to communicate with their public, virtual communication is resignified within museological institutions, raising a number of factors that contribute to the debate on virtuality. Considering the use of technologies in the web environment, this article aims to analyze how some museological institutions resignified their actions in the face of the pandemic and how the virtual environment has become a major challenge for them to think about their future actions. Based on theories of virtuality, musealization, and digitization of museum objects, it proposes a reflection on the challenges faced by museums during the pandemic period, as well as on how to rethink the uses of virtuality in the post-quarantine period.
KEYWORDS:
Virtual; Sars-CoV-2; Museums; Digital museum object; Virtual public; Virtual communication