iO and M Leuven bring Flemish Master to life with AI tool
On the occasion of the new retrospective exhibition " DIERIC BOUTS. Creator of Images" in M Leuven, blended agency iO developed the Boutsify app: a rich — physical and digital — experience powered by AI.
550 years back in time
"DIERIC BOUTS. Creator of Images" juxtaposes the fifteenth-century artist with his counterparts from the early twenty-first century: sports photographers, filmmakers, game developers, etc. At M Leuven, their sculptures and paintings hang and stand side by side, and that contrast provides new creative ideas. This is the first time in history that so many works by the Flemish master from the fifteenth century have simultaneously been on display in his hometown. The exhibition takes visitors 550 years back in time to the world of Bouts.
Blending the physical and digital worlds with AI
But how do you engage museum visitors of all ages in this radical juxtaposition between the old world of the Flemish Master and ours? In the case of M Leuven: by immersing them in Bouts’ world from the moment they cross the museum's threshold.
iO, therefore gave the museum lobby a real Bouts look. But a digital experience was absolutely essential, and iO delivered this using AI in the form of the Boutsify app. A web app that allows visitors to both take and upload photos that, after half a minute, are revealed as if through the eyes of the artist — in his fifteenth-century context.
The Growing Importance of AI Technology
The Boutsify app is a playful way to involve museum-goers in the historical universe of Dieric Bouts, but it’s also an accessible introduction to the world of AI for many visitors. It’s not just important technology for the marketing and communication sectors.
Sam De Win, Executive Creative Director, iO: "For us, AI is not an end in itself, but rather a means to solve business problems. We are already using AI for leading organisations such as NGF , Port of Antwerp-Bruges , and Länsförsäkringar, and now also M Leuven."
