A new app from the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) lets users turn their online portraits into works of art, which the gallery hopes will turn the “subjects” into new visitors.
AGO Express Yourself, created by Endeavour and Loopmedia, lets users customize their photos with five different artistic styles: a sculpture, a collage or in the style of Impressionist, Cubist or pop art. Users can further personalize their photos by modifying colour palettes and filters, and the pics can be shared via Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.
The idea is to reach new audiences, including young urbanites and families with children under 14, said Steve Rayment, director of marketing, design and publicity at AGO.
The gallery has already has an app that profiles its in-house collections, he said. But “we wanted to reach people who want to have a fun, engaging experience and create some artwork, and at the same time drive awareness of the AGO and our exhibitions.”
The new free app is a “small step” in a bigger plan to make the AGO — and art itself — engaging and accessible for everyone. “[Art] is like fine wine in that it’s spoken about in terms that are intimidating and inaccessible, and that has created a barrier around it,” said Rayment. “Our goal is to break that barrier. We believe art can be appreciated and enjoyed at all levels.”
The idea for the app came about earlier this year when AGO and Endeavour (its agency of record) were working on ideas to promote an upcoming Picasso exhibition. One idea was an app that allowed users to make their pictures appear as cubist works of art.
“It seemed limited in scope and it was a lot of money for limited run, so we said ‘why don’t we make it bigger than that?’” So, the app was built to be evergreen, said Rayment. “We can keep adding to it as additional exhibitions come on.”
