The jungle has been brought to life with dynamic adult and family multimedia guides for Tate Modern’s new Rousseau exhibition...

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Antenna Audio, a leading UK producer in the field of audioguides for the cultural sector, has created two multimedia tours for the Tate Modern's exhibition 'Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris'.

'A Brush With the Jungle' is the family tour, narrated by Floella Benjamin, whilst the adult tour features interviews with Michael Ondaatje, artist Sonia Boyce, animal expert Madame Bomsel and the Director of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, Eric Joly.

Audiovisual handset delves into Rousseau's world

In addition to appropriate jungle sound effects, audio descriptions of the works and animated images giving details of the paintings on show, the visitor can access additional audiovisual information on Rousseau’s life and the opinions of his contemporaries through the multimedia guide handset or ‘player’.

Since the show is displayed thematically rather than chronologically, the adult tour includes a section called ‘His Life’ which one can access at any point in the exhibition for background information on the artist.

In touch with senses and perception

The focus of the family tour is educational, with listeners being encouraged to examine details of the paintings, their content, structure and sources of inspiration. For instance, children are encouraged to play around with the scale of objects on their ‘player’ from the painting of The Waterfall to highlight the fact that Rousseau’s depiction of the natural world is not strictly realistic.

For the painting Horse attacked by Jaguar, visitors are asked to touch one of four pages that appear on their players taken from the book Bêtes Sauvages / Wild Beasts, choosing the image that they think inspired the Jaguar image. They are then told that the book will be on display later in the exhibition.

The Antenna Audio family tour guide gives a momentum to the exhibition for the younger visitor, encourages them to think creatively about the work they are seeing and makes them want to complete the tour. The adult tour engages the visitor with interactive opportunities, filmed mini-interviews with authoritative figures, and comments from curators to enhance their understanding of the exhibition.

About Antenna Audio:
For more than 20 years Antenna Audio has been the leader in the field of audio interpretation, providing the highest quality programming, equipment solutions and service, with the goal of creating an emotionally and intellectually engaging experience for visitors to museums, historic sites, and attractions. Over 70 million people worldwide have experienced an Antenna Audio tour at more than 800 sites, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery, London, the Louvre, Edinburgh Castle, the Alcatraz Cellhouse, and Elvis Presley's Graceland. Since launching the BAFTA-winning multimedia tour at Tate Modern in 2002, Antenna has also been recognised world wide as the ground-breaker in multimedia tour solutions. For the latest information on Antenna tours worldwide visit www.antennaaudio.com