Museums in Lockdown: Digital Transformations in Response to COVID-19

Many institutions were unable to foresee their sudden closure following the acknowledgment of COVID-19 as a pandemic. Most sectors, including the heritage and museum sector, have had to find alternative, digital methods of continuing their operations during the strict global lockdowns. The move from physical to digital introduced challenges and created new means for service delivery. Although many cultural institutions such as museums and libraries relied on social media to continue their services beyond the physical space, both new and existing online digital services were offered as a response to the strict lockdowns. Some of these initiatives included programs such as online workshops and activities, virtual tours, mobile applications, and games. This research explores how the spread of COVID-19, and the subsequent nationwide lockdowns that were initiated internationally, emphasized the need for innovation in digital technologies and the challenges associated with the sudden transition. This study focuses specifically on museums in Qatar and aims to understand four key components: (1) how the heritage sector in Qatar responded, (2) which types of digital tools, services, and initiatives were used to fill the gap of onsite visits, (3) what types of challenges museums faced during their transition from offline to online, and (4) COVID-19’s influence on the future of digital services in museums. The data presented in this study was collected via interviews conducted with experts representing some of the major cultural institutions in the country. It was found that most institutions in Qatar, as was the case globally, were not prepared for this sudden transition to digital. The most common challenges that institutions faced include copyright issues, website usability, and users’ familiarity with e-services. Some of these challenges were addressed by cultural institutions in Qatar, while others were more difficult to tackle during a global pandemic.