Goodbye academy, hello TikTok: the unapologetic strategy with which the Uffizi Gallery has doubled young visitors in three months

Beyond the controversy surrounding the veto that the US wants to impose on the

most downloaded and popular

of 2020, according to the latest

report

,

has become a powerful tool that has revolutionized the

data

, in Florence, which has doubled the youngest visitors in just three months.

The conventional

virtual

and educational workshops proposed on the museum's website have gone into the background since the museum reopened its doors on June 2 - after the closure forced by the pandemic - and an interesting relationship with

, who have managed to renew the image of the art gallery by interacting with their mythical works on the museum's own TikTok account.

The results of this experience have made experts speak out, who predict that alternative platforms, whether TikTok, Byte App or Dubsmash, will be conventionally used in museums.

But the important thing will not be where but how.

"We were practically in the Stone Age", confesses the director of the Uffizi Gallery, Eike Schmidt, to Icon DESIGN.

"And in a few months, the Uffizi have become at the forefront of museum social networks," he proclaims.

The Uffizi Gallery first opened accounts on Facebook and TikTok in March and April respectively of this year, and that short time frame has already generated more than 66,000 followers on Facebook and more than 57,000 on TikTok.

Furthermore, in the months of June, July and August, between 34% and 45% of all visitors to the museum were under 25 years of age, compared to 18-28% in the same period of the previous year.

Data that suggest, at least, a direct relationship with the museum's new audiences on social media.

@uffizigalleries

🍷 ## cheers ## wine ## miracle ## comedy ## jesus ## greenscreen

♬ original sound - Tammy 🍗🚬

“Sometimes you have to give a different point of view, on what may seem serious or boring at first,” explains Schmidt.

“69% of the users who interact with the museum's content on TikTok are between 13 and 24 years old, and it is good to convey to them that art is not boring, and that it is not only learned in schools, but that it is something you can find out for yourself, ”he continues.

"Laugh at ourselves"

In a radical change in the narrative register, which for the first time bypasses the intermediaries of the academy, the Uffizi Gallery has allowed the works themselves to speak and tell their story.

'The three graces', by Francesco Morandini, dance to the rhythm of the music of Ennie and Yoyki.

Botticelli's Venus rebels against her nudity by presenting her spring-summer 2020 fashion set, a pandemic jumpsuit with gloves and a mask.

Or Andrea del Castagno's canvas representing the poet Petrarca interacts with Pietro Saltini's portrait of his beloved Laura, to the rhythm of

by Pietro Basile.

@uffizigalleries

When ## Petrarca corteggiava ## Laura: eat è really andata.

## divine ## comedy ## art

♬ LAURAAAA DIVINAAA - Pietro Basile 💙

“The criterion that distinguishes our content offering on the TikTok account is as far as possible from the traditional.

It is a commitment to a self-ironic, humorous language, but always taking care of the limits so as not to touch the public's sensitivity or to be offensive to some people, even if it is involuntary ”, says Eike Schmidt.

Untraditional, funny and short videos do not mean sloppy, impromptu or uncontrolled.

The TikTok project is led by

It was opened for a period of six weeks, followed by another week of testing.

“While some videos are created in just 10 minutes, others are discarded after careful deliberation.

We must take care, for example, of the presentation of nudes on social networks to avoid censorship, "he adds.

@uffizigalleries

Spring / Summer 2020: corona look ## catwalk ## model ## style ## fashion ## art

♬ suono originale - uffizisocial

The videos about the visits of some VIPs to the museum are among the most popular posts on the account and have managed to boost the number of followers as well as the sale of tickets.

“When Chiara Ferragni, the

Italian fashion

with more than 20 million followers on Instagram,

visited us last July

, she was very intrigued

by Botticelli's

(1485-1486)

painting

.

During the following weekend we registered a 27% increase in young visitors.

And the virtual visit of the TikTok star, Martina Socrate, with 987,000 followers on the platform, led to a growth of our social profile in June of 50% ”, concludes Schmidt.

@uffizigalleries

I don't ## play, I ## slay.

💅👠 ## dolls ## dance ## pose ## slay

♬ original sound - Queen

There are currently 11 museums on TikTok, including the Louvre Museum in Paris, which with the hashtag #Louvre already has more than 17 million views, The National Museum of Qatar, #NationalMuseumOfQatar, which has just over 6 million, and of course, The Prado Museum that was incorporated last June.

Also the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, which was incorporated in April, and for its part, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which used the platform last year for a couple of projects, but whose account is now inactive.

@uffizigalleries

Se i quadri potessero parlare .. 🙈 ## comedy ## uffizi ## imparacontiktok

♬ suono originale - Pietro