Can an art work by Hammershøj be the setting for a first person shooter or an interactive mystery where knowledge of art history is needed to solve the game's riddle? And what happens when young people under the age of 30 years spend a weekend at ARoS to develop concepts and prototypes for games and mobile apps about art and art history? 

Both questions will be answered on February 3–4, 2024, when the first of four Epic-We Game Jams will take place at ARoS.   

"It’s exciting and very stimulating to be partner in an EU project of this scale, that aims to rethink our young visitor’s view upon art history, cultural heritage, and game development. We hope that both the participants and the users who will hopefully play the games afterwards, will engage even closer with our collection and experience new and playful aspects of the art," says Rebecca Matthews, director at ARoS.  

EU project combines research, cultural organisations, and creative industries

The workshop - or game jam - is organised in collaboration between ARoS, Aarhus University and Filmby Aarhus, all of which are part of the three-year EU project Epic-We under Horizon Europe, which was awarded DKK 23.6 million in 2022.    

"EPIC-WE links research, cultural heritage, and game development through collaboration with young people in Europe. The participants meet in groups to develop games focusing on art and cultural heritage, while the research part explores the value of the cultural encounters and develops new models for how young people, cultural organisations, the gaming industry, and universities can meet and practice new forms of creativity and education through games," explains Project Manager and Associate Professor of Didactic Design and Technology at DPU, Aarhus University Rikke Toft Nørgård.    

Similar game jams will take place in the Netherlands and Portugal, and all knowledge gathered and developed along the way will be made available to other cultural organisations, creative industries and universities in the EU. 

The gaming industry ready to take over prototypes

The prototypes developed by the participants at ARoS will be handed over to Filmby Aarhus which, with its’ incubator programme and network of game producers, is also affiliated with the Epic-We project.   

"We hope for magic to happen along the way and that some of the games that the participants come up with can be matured in collaboration with our partners into versions that everyone can enjoy. It would be obvious to add a game to an art work at ARoS, so that people can be inspired from home or on their way to the museum," says Katrine Broe Sørensen, Project Manager at Filmby Aarhus.   

The game jam kicks off on Saturday February 3 at 10 am at ARoS, and the developed concepts and ideas will be presented to the public at the museum on Sunday February 4 at 1 pm.