INDIA: Christie 1DLP laser projectors are powering six digital galleries at Bantony Castle Museum in Shimla, transforming the 145-year-old heritage property into an immersive exploration of Himachal Pradesh’s history, art and cultural traditions. Designed and implemented by Tricolor India Schauspiel, the installation uses 12 projectors across a range of projection environments, from a 270-degree immersive gallery with floor projection to architectural mapping, holographic-style presentations and interactive visual storytelling.

The colonial-era building, once the summer palace of the Maharaja of Sirmaur, has been repurposed as Himachal Pradesh’s first digital museum. Rather than applying a standardised projection system across the property, Tricolor India Schauspiel developed each gallery around its architecture, content and intended visitor experience.

The installation comprises five Christie Inspire Series DWU960ST-iS projectors, four Captiva DWU500S projectors and three GS Series DWU630-GS projectors. The mix accommodates different projection distances, surfaces and creative formats across the six galleries.

“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.”

The Nicholas Roerich Immersive Gallery is the installation’s most expansive projection environment. Five DWU960ST-iS projectors create a 270-degree visual canvas that extends onto the floor, surrounding visitors with animated interpretations inspired by the artist’s paintings. Projection-mapped content developed by Ross Ashton, Director of Tricolor India Schauspiel, is combined with an immersive soundscape designed by Karen Monid to evoke the scale and drama of the Himalayas. Precise positioning, alignment, synchronisation and calibration maintain consistency across the multiple projection surfaces.

In the Summer Capital Gallery, two DWU630-GS projectors create a synchronised L-shaped corner projection tracing Shimla’s development, from its mountainous setting and colonial-era architecture to its institutions and evolving urban character. Two Captiva DWU500S projectors in the same gallery deliver holographic-style presentations of Mahatma Gandhi and Satyanand Stokes, bringing the historical figures into the visitor experience.

Elsewhere, a Captiva DWU500S animates characters and motifs from the Chamba Rumal tradition in the Art, Life & Culture Gallery, translating the region’s distinctive pictorial embroidery into moving digital imagery while retaining its cultural identity. In the Taste of Shimla Gallery, another DWU500S is positioned above a purpose-built dining-table exhibit, projecting dishes, ingredients and culinary narratives to present the region’s food heritage through an unconventional format.

A DWU630-GS projector serves the Mysteries of Shimla Gallery, where large-format wall projection and atmospheric visuals combine with synchronised audio to establish a cinematic setting for stories inspired by 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 at 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.”

The project demonstrates how a varied projection toolkit can serve distinct storytelling requirements within a single heritage property, using the building’s galleries as individual canvases for presenting Shimla’s history and Himachal Pradesh’s cultural legacy.