With its new project ‘Open Heritage’, Google is offering virtual access to the world’s cultural treasures.
The partnership is a project between Google and CyArk, a non-profit organization that sets out to digitally preserve the world’s cultural heritage sites before they are lost to natural disasters, human intervention or the passage of time.
After nearly 15 years of operation — it was founded in 2003, motivated by the destruction of fifth-century Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan — CyArk has recorded more than 200 monuments on all seven continents.
In teaming up with CyArk, Google Arts & Culture is opening up access to the organization’s virtual wonders with an online exhibition that covers 25 iconic locations in 18 countries.
Among them are the Ananda Ok Kyaung temple in Bagan, Myanmar, captured before it was damaged in a 2016 earthquake; the Al Azem Palace in war-torn Damascus, Syria; the ancient Mayan metropolis of Chichen Itza in Mexico; and Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate.
For many of the sites, Google has developed 3D models that allow viewers to see these cultural wonders from every angle.
The Open Heritage project is accessible online at artsandculture.google.com/project/cyark, or via the free Google Arts & Culture app for iOS and Android.