Reconstructing Cultural Narratives in Digital Museum Exhibitions: Power, Representation, and Technological Mediation

Abstract

As museums worldwide accelerate digital transformation, virtual exhibitions have become crucial sites for cultural communication and public participation. However, digital platforms are not neutral; their interface language and narrative logic often embed Western-centered cultural frameworks and reproduce existing hierarchies of knowledge. Based on this problem, this study focuses on three digital exhibitions from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI): The Signals Channel, Virtual Views: Faith Ringgold, and Behind the Screen. It explores how they use interface language and narrative structure to shape cultural understanding and knowledge visibility. The study uses case analysis and semi-structured interviews with ten Chinese-speaking viewers to analyze language accessibility and cultural inclusivity in digital exhibitions. The study shows that these digital exhibitions, while appearing open and inclusive, still keep cultural asymmetry through single-language interfaces and Anglo-American narratives. Non-English audiences can build understanding through visual cues and self-translation but face limits in emotional connection and cultural identification. This means that the “inclusivity” of digital exhibitions remains mostly technical, and true cultural equality needs diversity and localization in both language design and narrative practice.