Listening2Painting: Teaching Multimedia Skills Through an Audio Augmented Reality Approach for Arts

This paper presents the Listening2Painting project, an interdisciplinary initiative that explores Audio Augmented Reality (AAR) to enhance artwork appreciation in museum settings. The project’s main goal is to bridge the experience of observers and paintings through sonification, while this manuscript particularly emphasizes its application as an educational resource for students of the humanities focusing on multimedia skills. The research details the initial implementation of the project and its integration into two subsequent laboratory sessions, with special emphasis on one session that engaged 195 university students from humanities disciplines. By involving participants in the development of a real-world application, Listening2Painting exemplifies a practical case study aimed at improving multimedia competencies. This method effectively connects theoretical learning with practical digital skills, providing students with valuable experience applying technology to cultural heritage. One of the approach’s strengths was that students were involved in a project to increase their engagement towards artworks, so they perceived that their activities had a purpose related to their studies. The paper further analyzes educational outcomes and assesses the effectiveness of AAR in enhancing digital literacy within the humanities field. Through this innovative approach, the project illustrates how technology can be utilized to enrich museum experiences and, at the same time, to foster essential digital skills among students from diverse academic backgrounds.