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State of the Art: the App

Along with the rest of the Museum departments, the Digital Media team has been hard at work to create interactives for the State of the Art exhibition.  One project we created was the State of the Art mobile app.  The app is available for free on Apple and Android platforms.

I’ve been asked a few times why we decided to have a separate app for the exhibition (rather than just a temporary exhibition tour in the Crystal Bridges App) and why a guest should consider installing it on their own device.  There are both technical and experiential reasons.  On the technical side, mobile apps are at their best when they have a focused function.  The CB Museum app functions well because it is primarily an audio guide for the Museum’s entire permanent collection.  We wanted to offer a similar all-encompassing and in-depth mobile experience for this special exhibition.

So what are some of the highlight features in the State of the Art app?

View On Map icon
We’ve included more than just the works that have tour “stops.”  That’s right, all 227 works in the exhibition and all 102 artists are included in the app.  We’ve also included all the extended labels from the gallery as well as a few curatorial stops.  And we’ll be adding more tour content throughout the run of the exhibition.  If you’re having trouble finding the location of an artwork between the two galleries, then you can use the View on Map function, found on the artwork pages, to see the location of any artwork.

Search
We’ve upgraded the way you can search, which is located in the upper right corner.  Not only can you search by the tour code that you find in on the object label in the gallery, but now, as you learn the names of your favorite artists and works, you can search directly by that information.

Favorite option
One fun feature we’ve included in this app is the option to “favorite” artists and artworks. Once something is selected as a favorite, it is included in a special list that can be accessed from the main menu.  This essentially lets you create your own custom tour of the exhibition.

Share your favorite artists on social media.
Another fun feature is being able to share an artist you like through social media.  We’ve integrated with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.  So start letting your friends know about these wonderful artists.
  
Media Extras
Finally, there is the Media Extras section.  Here you will find all of the extra content that the Museum is creating in connection to the exhibition.  This includes all our State of the Art-related blog posts as well as the recordings from all of the State of the Art lectures, art talks, the Summit, and other programs as they happen. New content will be listed here for quick reference in order for you to stream and enjoy it again and again. Yes, even the recent State of the Art Symposium will soon be included in that section of the app.

Hopefully this little overview helps you understand our decision to make a special mobile app for such a special exhibition as State of the Art. We hope you will consider installing it on your mobile device and enjoy.

Also published on the Crystal Bridges Museum Blog.
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