or first watch this short video with additional explanation:
When you enter the museum through the main entrance, you will find yourself in a entrance hall with additional information about the use.
From there you can easily walk to the exhibition space, where stripes on the floor help indicate the way. If you want, you can also a back door take directly to the exhibitions.
Furthermore, Digidaar also contains a archive center, where you can consult the digitized archive of Voem yourself. There is also a music corner, where you can listen to new music from Voem's label, SAWNA. Finally, there is also a event space, the details of which can be found on the calendar.
Would you rather explore Digidaar with a guide? We'll soon be organizing a new tour of the space, focusing on the role of art in Voem's history. More information coming soon!
Calendar
Be sure to check back regularly to find more information.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 18 jun 2026 | Vernissage: DemaOne, Writing the Crossing |
| May 16, 2026 | Musical session: BOMfestival More information. |
| May 7, 2026 | Panel discussion: Migrating plants |
| 22 apr 2026 | Workshop: Extending the museum More information. |
| 10 apr 2026 | Internal information session |
| 1 apr 2026 | Start of the final artistic residency: DemaOne |
| March 26, 2026 | Vernissage: Radwan, VoemTropy More information. |
| March 10, 2026 | Guided tour and panel discussion: Amani El Haddad More information. |
| March 8, 2026 | Workshop: collage with Radwan |
| 1 January 2026 | Start of the second artistic residency: Radwan |
| 4 dec 2025 | Museum Night Ghent: Winter Circus |
| 3 dec 2025 | Guided tour and panel discussion: Tina De Gendt. More information. |
| November 27 2025 | Vernissage: Fatemeh Khezri, HYPERTRACE. More information. |
| 5-6 Nov 2025 | Workshop: 'Spoken Truths' with spiritchild and Fatih De Vos. A workshop on spoken word and hip-hop, where participants are encouraged to create and present their own work. |
| 18 October 2025 | Musical session: Nabil |
| 23 sep 2025 | Guided tour of Digidaar: Badra Djait & Lennart Thienpont |
| 8 sep 2025 | Beginning of the first artistic residency: Fatemeh Khezri |
| 1 sep 2025 | Full launch from Digidaar for the general public. |
| 27 apr 2025 | Grand opening from Digidaar in the Winter Circus in Ghent on the occasion of Heritage Day |
| 11 apr 2025 | Closing event for the Voem community |
| 12 October 2024 | Opening event for the Voem community |
About Digidaar
Digidaar is a virtual archive and museum space that interactively brings Voem vzw's heritage to life. The project developing this space runs from 2024 to 2026 under the name Heritage and Diversity in the Metaverse.
Digidaar literally means "digital home" in Arabic. Together with the communities around Voem, we are gradually building a space where heritage is not only preserved but also shared, experienced, and shaped.
With Digidaar, we want to make this heritage accessible to both the heritage community itself and the general public – with special attention to young people and less-represented groups.
Voem: partner and archive creator
Voem vzw is one of the archive creators of Amsab-ISG. This socio-cultural organization has been committed to fostering encounters and dialogue in a highly diverse society for over 35 years. Voem originated from Belgian Muslim communities and has grown into a broad platform for art, culture, and social reflection. Voem supports artists, organizes community activities, and contributes to urban networks focused on themes such as migration, identity, and heritage.
The Voem archive—consisting of documents, photos, posters, and audiovisual material—is managed by Amsab-ISG. This forms the foundation of Digidaar.
From DiverzCity to Digidaar
During the corona pandemic, Voem took its first steps into the digital world with DiverzCity: a virtual 3D space for meeting and collaboration.
Digidaar builds on this and adds a new layer: a digital museum environment where Voem's heritage is presented interactively. The collaboration between Voem and Amsab-ISG was a logical step in this process.
Heritage with and by the community
Digidaar was conceived from the outset as a participatory process. In the first year of the project, we brought together a diverse and engaged community around Voem's heritage. Through conversations, creative sessions, and gatherings, we collaborated with Voem volunteers, artists, and partner organizations. Their input was crucial in determining which heritage we wanted to showcase and how we could present it digitally.
Photos from various events with the Voem community - © Karim Abraheem & Dhiaa Biya
Based on this input, we selected material from the Voem archive and jointly designed the structure of the virtual environment. The Czech company Space Makers developed this into an interactive 3D space where visitors can not only discover the heritage but also actively engage with it. Think of features like creating photo collages, manipulating images, or highlighting favorite pieces. These interactive features are currently under development and will continue to evolve after the launch thanks to user feedback.
Screenshots of the design of the virtual space Digidaar
During Heritage Day on April 27, 2025, Digidaar's exhibitions were presented to a wide audience for the first time at the Ghent Winter Circus.
A virtual space that lives
In the second year of the project – starting in the summer of 2025 – we will focus on activation and engagement. We want to organize creative competitions, feature artists from the Voem network, and utilize the virtual space for public activities.
We're also exploring how we can incorporate intangible heritage like calligraphy graffiti, slam poetry, and textile art into Digidaar. This includes interactive workshops and guided sessions with artists who bring this heritage to life in the digital environment.
Artists in residence
Three different artists will be in residence at Digidaar. They will be working on new art based on Voem's heritage, which will be presented in a temporary exhibition at the end of each residency. Be sure to keep an eye on the calendar and the page with the exhibitions stay tuned for more info.
Our first artist was Fatemeh Khezri, who started working on the Voem archive to provide us HYPERTRACE - To present ابر اثر. Fatemeh's exhibition offers a poetic and critical perspective on heritage in the digital age. It demonstrates that archives are not only a repository of the past, but as living guides, they can also help us imagine a future.
Our second artist is Radwan, who will work on VoemTropyThis will be a conceptual exhibition that explores space as the only place where the past remains preserved and visible. Using mixed-media collage and photography from Voem's archive, the exhibition will narrate Voem's creation as a symbolic "Big Bang," and how subsequent moments, events, and experiences accelerated, collided, and exploded in the present.
A pioneer in digital heritage
Digidaar is not only a cultural project but also a technological experiment. We actively seek new ways to make heritage accessible interactively and digitally.
We are eager to share the knowledge we gain with the wider heritage sector – through publications, workshops, and virtual tours. We are also building a learning network where heritage professionals and technology experts can inspire each other and exchange ideas about the future of digital heritage management.
Partners
The project is a collaboration between Amsab Institute for Social History en Voem vzw.
The technical implementation is in the hands of the Czech company Space Makers.
In addition, we are building a learning network in which partners from the heritage and technology sectors exchange knowledge and expertise.
- meemoo
- FARO
- Intangible Heritage Workshop
- Ghent Center for Digital Humanities (UGent)
- DigitGlam (KU Leuven)
- Immersive Lab (AP Antwerp)
- Experience Hub (Thomas More)
- Amuse Yourself
- FAAM
- Parkum
- Socius
Contact Us
Do you have questions about the project or would you like to volunteer to help build the virtual space? Please contact us via
