Projectors power storytelling at Bantony Castle Museum

Images courtesy of Tricolor India Schauspiel

SHIMLA, India – Christie^® is pleased to announce that its 1DLP laser projectors are illuminating a diverse range of digital experiences at Bantony Castle Museum in Shimla, transforming the historic property into an engaging showcase of Shimla’s history, art, and culture.

The 145-year-old colonial-era building, located in the mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India, once served as the summer palace of the Maharaja of Sirmaur. It has been transformed into Himachal Pradesh’s first digital museum, where immersive digital storytelling brings the region’s rich history and cultural traditions to life. Designed and implemented by Tricolor India Schauspiel, the project features 12 Christie projectors across six digital galleries, comprising five Inspire Series DWU960ST-iS, four Captiva DWU500S, and three GS Series DWU630-GS projectors. Each exhibit was carefully selected and configured to meet the unique spatial, content, and experiential requirements.

Rather than applying a uniform technical solution throughout the museum, Tricolor India Schauspiel designed each projection system around its gallery environment as part of its turnkey execution of the digital galleries. This approach supports a wide variety of creative applications, including a 270-degree immersive environment with floor projection, an L-shaped architectural canvas, holographic-style presentations, digital animation, tabletop projection, and theatre-style storytelling.

“The vision for Bantony Castle Museum was to create a contemporary visitor experience that  brings Shimla’s history and Himachal Pradesh’s cultural heritage closer to audiences, while respecting the character of this important property,” said Himanshu Sabharwal, creative director of Tricolor India Schauspiel. “Every gallery required a different visual language, so we considered the architecture, content, viewing distance, and desired audience experience before selecting and positioning each projector. Christie’s breadth of 1DLP laser solutions gave us the flexibility to translate these varied creative concepts into cohesive and engaging experiences.”

A major highlight is the Nicholas Roerich Immersive Gallery, where five Christie DWU960ST-iS projectors create a 270-degree visual environment with floor projection. Animated interpretations inspired by Nicholas Roerich’s paintings, projection-mapped content developed by Ross Ashton, director of Tricolor India Schauspiel, and an immersive soundscape designed by Karen Monid surround visitors with imagery evoking the scale and drama of the Himalayas. Precise positioning, alignment, synchronization, and calibration ensure consistency across the multi-surface canvas.

In the Summer Capital Gallery, two Christie DWU630-GS projectors produce a synchronized L-shaped corner projection depicting Shimla’s historical development, mountainous setting, colonial-era architecture, institutions, and changing urban character. The same gallery also uses two Captiva DWU500S projectors for holographic-style presentations of Mahatma Gandhi and Satyanand Stokes, bringing these historical figures to life for visitors. 

In the Art, Life & Culture Gallery, a Captiva DWU500S animates characters and motifs from the Chamba Rumal, transforming the region’s traditional pictorial embroidery into a dynamic digital experience while preserving its cultural identity. In the Taste of Shimla Gallery, another Captiva DWU500S projector is positioned above a purpose-built dining-table exhibit, where projected dishes, ingredients, and culinary narratives take visitors on an unconventional journey through the region’s food heritage.

A Christie DWU630-GS projector also powers the Mysteries of Shimla Gallery, where large-format wall projection, atmospheric visuals, and synchronized audio establish a cinematic setting for stories inspired by the legends, unexplained incidents, and mysteries associated with Shimla’s colonial past.

“Bantony Castle Museum demonstrates how projection can become integral to the narrative rather than simply a way to display content,” said Rishubh Nayar, ProAV sales director for India, Christie. “By combining the performance and installation flexibility of our 1DLP laser projectors with Tricolor India Schauspiel’s creative direction, AV engineering, and content integration expertise, the team delivered experiences that adapt to each story. We’re delighted that Christie technology is helping the museum present Shimla’s history and cultural traditions in such varied and compelling ways.”