In a bid to enhance its XR Programs and Research Fund, Meta, in partnership with Art d’Egypte has officially announced the release of 11 AR filters on Instagram to transport visitors into the heart of the art of the Forever is Now II exhibition at the Pyramids of Giza.
In addition to an immersive art experience set against the iconic backdrop of the Pyramids of Giza, the exhibition features avant-garde works and installations by a diverse group of artists, including French artist JR, Egyptian sculptor Ahmed Karaly, Italian artist Emilio Ferro, and French-Tunisian graffiti artist El Seed.
Each filter has a companion, Bastet, an animated cat named after the corresponding ancient Egyptian deity. Bastet helps users learn about the history of each work of art and how it was made through immersive films, pictures, and graphics that are all enabled by AR technology.
Building Inspiring and Impactful Content Through Egyptian Art-Inspired AR Filters
Speaking on the Egyptian Art-Inspired AR filters, Fares Akkad, the country director of MENA at Meta, said the program hopes to build more meaningful, inspiring, and impactful content and help immerse people in the artistic journey.
“The AR/VR technology provides our creator community with infinite potential to build more meaningful, inspiring and impactful content. Through our partnership with Art d’Egypte on Forever is Now II, we hope to illustrate one of many ways this could be achieved and how technology can help immerse people in the artistic journey.”
Some of the initial users of the filter were creators from Europe and the Middle East, including Hadia Ghaleb, Marissa, Mohamed ElHabtour, and BrandonB. They created and shared Instagram experience films with their friends and followers.
Egyptian Art-Inspired AR Filters To Uplift Technology and Art Together
On the other hand, Brandon Baum, a UK-based creator, pointed out that the filters were a very cool way to see how technology and art were being brought together to uplift and enhance users’ experience.
“This experience was surreal and memorable. Surreal, because we were in one of the world’s most ancient landscapes experiencing futuristic AR technology, and memorable because it was a fresh and novel approach to content creation. For me as a creator, the filters were a very cool way to see how technology and art were being brought together to uplift and enhance our experience.”
However, it should be noted that the goal of this investment in XR in Egypt is to create interactive, imaginative, and immersive material centered around an experience that blends digital overlays with the real world. The metaverse will have a significant impact on augmented reality technology, which will also enable more communities throughout the world to engage fully with art.
