France eMotion | São Paulo, 2019

France eMotion – The Animated Journey is a traveling exhibition that blends photography and augmented reality in an immersive celebration of French cultural heritage. After touring cities across Europe, Africa, and North America, the exhibition arrived in São Paulo in November 2019, hosted by the Museu da Imagem e do Som in partnership with Aliança Francesa de São Paulo.

This unique project, initiated by Atout France and Institut Français with curatorship by Muriel Enjalran, brings together four international photographers—Edu Monteiro (Brazil), Ishola Akpo (Benin), David Schalliol (USA), and Lourdes Segade (Spain)—to capture 35 iconic French cultural sites, from the Arc de Triomphe to the Mont Saint-Michel. Their photographs are animated through an original mobile application, which brings a hand-drawn virtual character to life, weaving through the images and transforming the viewer’s experience.

For the São Paulo presentation, the exhibition design was conceived by Vasto, in collaboration with Aliança Francesa. Our team created a scenographic environment that emphasized both the visual impact of the photographs and the interactive potential of augmented reality. At the heart of the design was a series of illuminated lozenge-shaped panels that appeared to float in the exhibition space—an architectural gesture that evoked movement, lightness, and curiosity. Each panel served as both a display surface and an interactive station where visitors could engage with the augmented content through their mobile devices.

Vasto also developed customized supports and digital signage that guided the public through this hybrid analog-digital experience, offering a seamless integration of art, technology, and spatial design.