Tokens of love and loss: Plugging into the affective entanglements of online museum spaces exhibiting tokens of love and loss at the Foundling Museum, London; Museo degli Innocenti, Florence; National Museum of Australia, Canberra

Abstract

The museum space is continually evolving and, not surprisingly, we have seen significant and rapid expansion in both digitized records and online exhibitions, especially since the COVID‐19 pandemic of 2020–2023. In this article we examine three comparable museum collections of tokens of love and loss in the Foundling Museum in London, the Museo degli Innocenti in Florence, and the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. Using a case study approach as visitor‐researchers, we explore how post‐qualitative theories speak to the affective experience of museums in the physical and the virtual space. We ask if the online visitor experience can be imbued with affective possibilities and, if so, how might they be maximized to best support, replicate, or replace an in‐person museum experience.