Originally posted By stephanie kwok on January 14, 2019
An app that I’d like to share is the ‘Google Arts and Culture’ app for mobile devices. As an art teacher with interests in technology, I find that this is a good fusion of both curricular areas. It puts a modern spin on things when incorporated into lessons and is a new vehicle through which teachers can engage their students, particularly when learning about famous artists, works of art, and art history. With this app, students have access to an extensive database of art images, historical information, and well-known as well as current, trending artists and their work. There are filter options that allow users to search up specific types of art, such as by geographical location, colour, artist, art style, and medium. Note that this app works best with students grades 6-12.
An especially exciting feature of this app is that one can also explore 360-degree virtual tours of museums, art exhibits, and historical sites. These include current and seasonal global exhibitions. This has practical use for those studying history and geography also and is a fantastic example of VR technology being utilized for educational purposes. Students can explore independently and conduct research to an extensive degree using this digital platform. I highly recommend this app to those who teach art or are curious or interested in art personally.
Bonus: There is also a fun feature on this app that allows for the user to take a selfie photo which then matches your face up to a visually similar artwork doppelganger.
The app can be found in the app store, but here is the website link: https://artsandculture.google.com/
I played around with the Google Arts and Culture app on my iPhone 6. I wanted to see how an app that relies heavily on graphics, AR/VR capability and selfie recognition works on an older smartphone model. The Art Projector (displaying actual size artwork in your own home) and Pocket Gallery (viewing a gallery with augmented reality) weren’t supported, which was unfortunate. The remaining features – selfie doppelgänger, art filters and finding art using colours in a personal photo felt like gimmicky add-ons.
As an education tool, I would be concerned about backwards compatibility. Assuming most publicly-funded schools have a tight budget, they may not be using the latest and greatest smartphone devices. Strong Wi-Fi connection is also highly recommended to ensure a smooth experience. Even without the AR features enabled, the app lagged occasionally when doing a search or running multiple apps at once.
I think the app does a good job of curation – more than 500 virtual tours combined in a single place (if you can use it!). I would have liked to see the app focus more on one or two solid experiences instead. For example, a few years ago, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) had an exhibit called ReBlink, which used a custom app to modernize classic paintings. The app was fairly basic; I took my teenage niece and nephew, both were delighted by the experience. See https://ago.ca/exhibitions/reblink