Engage with new audiences as you reach beyond the physical boundaries of your institution.
In this time of closures and social distancing, it is even more critical to make your art collection accessible. Here are five ways you can make your artworks easier to find, view and engage with.
Create virtual exhibitions.
We’ve seen amazing examples of collecting institutions bringing their artworks online and continuing their exhibition programming. Luckily there is a captivated audience—people are turning to their computers and phones for entertainment, engagement and community during these quiet days of COVID. With virtual exhibits, art programs are able to continue their mission in their communities and beyond. Here are some wonderful examples of how different types of art organizations are using their Artwork Archive Public Profiles and website embed to bring their happenings online:
Davidson College’s Van Every Smith Galleries brought their Fall 2020 exhibit online so that students, faculty, alumni and their community could continue to engage with their programming.
The Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens quickly pivoted in April and made their annual fundraiser, the Winter Park Paint Out, available online. An unexpected benefit of bringing the fundraiser online was that they saw sales outside of their community. They were not limited to just those that could attend the event in person. Artists were able to showcase more works too!
Children’s Hospital Colorado created fun-filled scavenger hunts around their campus to encourage patients, families and even staff to take a break, enjoy art and create memories. Scavenger hunts explored their sculpture garden, the NICU, the PICU and other locations.
Cheyenne/Laramie County Public Art program showcased their Paint Slingers Initiative, an annual mural festival. Community members could view murals across downtown Cheyenne from the comfort of their homes. The showcase also preserves the legacy of the works before they are painted over the next year.
The Marjorie Barrack Museum of Art at University of Nevada Las Vegas brings the magic of their entire permanent collection online by embedding their Artwork Archive inventory onto their website.
Children's Hospital Colorado brings their artworks online with Artwork Archive's Public Profile.
Amplify your online presence with QR Codes
QR codes are making a comeback. When iPhone and Android smartphones included QR code scanners in their new product releases, they brought the efficient grid back into our lives. Plus, the increased use of QR codes in our daily life due to COVID restrictions (i.e. menus scanned by QR codes) has made the technology more familiar.
Utilize QR Codes to educate your audience. With an online collection management system like Artwork Archive, you can create QR code labels for your artworks. When someone scans the code, they are instantly brought to your Public Profile and can learn more about the artwork.
They are also great for outdoor art scavenger hunts!
QR codes can also be used for internal purposes—to manage your inventory.
Make your artworks more accessible with an interactive map view.
Here at Artwork Archive we just made it even easier for you to share your art collection. With Artwork Archive's Interactive Map for Organizations, viewers can explore your artworks by location.
If you have a Public Profile with Artwork Archive, you can share your artworks and curate online exhibitions to continue engagement.
The interactive map will show the spread of your art collection—whether that be across the country, throughout town or on campus. Viewers can drill down to particular locations and learn more about specific artworks.
It's easy to share your public art installations, temporary works, galleries and various collections via the Interactive Map.
GPS: Get People Staring...at your artwork
Help people find your art, even when it does not have a formal address. If you have sculptures scattered throughout a park, or murals hidden away in alleys, then a street address may not be the best identifier.
If you add GPS coordinates to your artworks in a system like Artwork Archive, then you not only have the precise location stored for your own internal records, but you also have the exact location viewable on a map.
The GPS coordinates will sync to a map app like Google Maps, enabling community members to pull up directions to the artworks.
This is great for public art programs, institutions with large campuses, sculpture parks, and outdoor art festivals.
See how Cheyenne/Laramie County Public Art shares their artworks with the map view.
Keep your community updated with News
Did you know that the Artwork Archive Public Profile comes with a News section? It’s an easy-to-use blogging platform that’s viewed alongside your collection. nnounce programming and events with the News section of the Public Profile.
Northglenn Arts and Humanities Foundation uses News to announce walking tours.
UNLV Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art shares art history research and provides their student interns with a platform to introduce their studies.
Our new normal has potential
What will the future hold for our art collections? As a society, we're all acknowledging that there will be no return to normal as we knew it before COVID-19. The physical restrictions have made art organizations creative and nimble.
Perhaps we’re moving to a new era of equitable access?
With cloud-based tools, you'll be ready to meet people where they are—whether that is on their couch or out in the world.
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