Malaga's Fycma presents Roman Malaca and immersive Titanic experience at fifth culture and tech forum

A vanished city can come back to life in fine detail through virtual reality; an oil painting in a gallery can turn into a new digital artwork when paired with a QR code on a mobile phone; and a ticket bought online now lets visitors enter museums at a chosen time without queuing at the box office.

The present and future of art take centre stage at the fifth CM Málaga, Culture & Museums International Tech Forum, which will bring together leading voices at the Palacio de Ferias y Congresos (Fycma) on 22 and 23 June.

Together, they will explore the limits of digital applications and the evolving definition of artistic creation. A total of 180 institutions from Europe, America and Asia will attend the forum, where organisers will showcase practical applications ranging from a virtual reality reconstruction of Roman Malaca to an immersive experience of the Titanic.

"CM Málaga strengthens Malaga's role as one of the major international meeting points for culture and technology," Alicia Izquierdo, councillor for innovation, urban digitalisation and investment, said during the presentation at the Patio de Banderas.

The event, now established as a biennial forum in its fifth year, will bring together more than 90 experts and professionals from cultural institutions around the world, including the Onassis Foundation, Paris Musées, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the New Art Centre, Cirque du Soleil, the Royal Tapestry Factory, the Instituto Andaluz de Patrimonio Histórico, Museo Picasso Málaga and San Diego Comic-Con Málaga, among others.

One of the main highlights will once again be the V Simposio Internacional sobre Soluciones Digitales en Museos y Entidades Culturales, where specialists will debate the concept of "post-digital flow", which argues that artistic creation, perception and interaction now take place in an environment where the digital no longer acts as an add-on but as part of everyday experience.

Led by Lucía Ybarra and Rosina Gómez-Baeza, founders of consultancy YGBART, the programme will examine three main strands: how digital art has been overlooked in the history of contemporary art; how archives and memory can be preserved in the new technological era; and how artificial intelligence is reshaping authorship, agency and memory.

Contributors include Rhizome in New York, the New Art Centre, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial, the Onassis Foundation and the Complutense University of Madrid, among others.

The event will also host the IV Jornadas Técnicas Internacionales, designed to encourage knowledge exchange between institutions, disciplines and regions. Speakers will explore audiovisual technology as a driver of new cultural languages, storytelling and emerging cultural narratives, craft in the digital age and heritage conservation.

Participants include organisations such as AVIXA, Ciência Viva, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, the European Crafts Alliance, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Sohrlin, Columbia University's Digital Storytelling Lab, Cirque du Soleil, San Diego Comic-Con Málaga, Paris Musées and Andalucía's directorate-general for museums and cultural sites.

"This event carries the DNA of Malaga's present and future: technology and culture," culture councillor Mariana Pineda said, highlighting the participation of leaders and managers from 16 countries.

Museums and cultural centres from the city will also play a key role, not only in talks and panels but also in the exhibition area, where municipal institutions and collections will appear together in one of the 40 stands.

In this practical space, visitors will find cutting-edge experiences and technological solutions, including VR simulations of Roman Malaca linked to an archaeological site at the Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga, alongside other immersive experiences covering the Titanic, Gaudí and the Roman Colosseum.

Exhibitions such as The Metamorphosis of Guernica and displays on ancient Egypt will also feature. Artificial intelligence-powered audio guide systems will also be on show, opening up new ways to enrich cultural visits and personalise the museum experience.

The Junta de Andalucía will once again attend the conference to showcase its experience in digital transformation and the "deep renewal of tools used in heritage management".

"Cultural innovation is not an option, it is a necessity," director-general for cultural innovation in Andalucía Pía Halcón said.

Diario SUR chief reporter Ana Pérez Bryan said that the newspaper will feature a special set of interviews with experts, broadcast live on its website, alongside extensive coverage of the event across digital and print editions.

The forum will also host the fourth open call for startups, the second award for innovative and sustainable museum shop design and the second 'Cultura en Código: transformando la cultura a través de la tecnología ideathon', aimed at recognising and promoting talent in the cultural and creative sector.

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