Technology is often excellent for making things more accessible, and this is certainly true for art. Various types of technology are making art accessible in different ways, whether you’re someone who wants to view art, buy it, or even make it yourself. The art world can often seem exclusive, but there are many ways technology is helping to make it possible for anyone to enjoy art whenever they want to. If you’re someone who loves art or you’re just curious about how you can get more involved with the art world, your phone or computer could be the gateway to a whole new perspective. But how exactly can technology make art more accessible for you or anyone else?
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Browse Digital Collections
One of the ways that art has become more accessible through technology is the ability to digitise art collections. In particular, it’s easy to see classic pieces of art online, especially those that are no longer under copyright, which for the most part, includes any art that is more than 100 or so years old. For example, in the UK, copyright generally expires 70 years after the death of the artist, meaning that there is a lot of famous art that is now in the public domain.
There are various ways to find art online. Many museums and galleries have images of some of their most popular artworks, for example. You can take a look at hundreds of thousands of images on the website for The Met with their collection of public domain works and other collections. At Art UK, you can browse all public domain art in the UK, with more than 250,000 pieces of art to explore. Google Arts & Culture shows you art from around the world, offering the ability to explore collections from different museums and galleries. They have collections from more than 2,000 museums around the world, from the Van Gogh Museum to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nagoya City Art Museum.
Look for the Latest Exhibitions
Getting online also makes it easier to find out where to discover art near you, or where to visit when you’re travelling. You can easily stay up to date with the most recent art exhibitions, as well as find the permanent exhibits that are a must-see. It’s usually pretty easy to find out about the top places to visit for art, whether you’re in your hometown or you’re visiting somewhere new. As well as the most popular places, looking online can help you to find the hidden gems, including small museums and galleries. You can even often find places that have free entry, if not all the time, then at least one day a week.
If you want to keep up to date with the latest exhibitions at your favourite museums and galleries, you can usually find a newsletter to sign up to. You can also often join a membership programme, which offers other benefits too. Local news and culture sites will also keep you up to date about what exhibitions are available. These resources can help you to get the latest news about art that you can see, both old and new.
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Access Art Anywhere with Mobile Data
Mobile technology makes it possible to access art anywhere in the world. When you have mobile data, you can get online and use different connected apps or your browser to discover art in different ways. Mobile data is more affordable than ever, with the option of getting a SMARTY SIM 30GB for £10 and plenty of other great SIM card and contract phone deals. Anyone can use their phones to look for art, whether they want to view it or buy it. And, of course, mobile devices can be excellent for making art too. Many people use their phones as a camera more than they use it to make phone calls, and tablets and phones can also use a huge range of apps to create art.
Mobile devices with data can even occasionally be used for purposes such as interactive art. They’re also great for sharing your experiences of art out in the world, which can help to promote art to others and encourage other people to get involved. Social media makes it easy to share your experiences when you visit a gallery, an exhibition, or an event that exposes you to new art.
Use Apps and Audio Tours to Discover Art
Another way mobile technology can be used to explore art is through the use of apps and audio tours. Many museums, galleries, and other groups and establishments with an interest in art offer audio tours and descriptions to help people explore art collections. Some of these are for exhibitions in galleries, while others offer a fantastic way to explore street art and urban art. Things like murals and outdoor sculptures can be interesting to experience alongside a walking tour audio description. As well as being a good way to discover art, it can show you a new city or help you look at somewhere familiar in a different way.
Museums and galleries sometimes make audio headsets available for visitors to use as they walk around. However, new technology has made it possible for anyone to download an app to their phone and use their own headphones to explore. In fact, many apps also have a variety of other features to make a visit to a museum or gallery even more interactive. It enables visitors to engage with the art more and to learn more than what may be written on a small app next to each artwork. Some places have even used augmented reality to enhance the experience.
Enjoy Tech Art
Technology can also make art accessible through the art itself. People have long played around with tech and how they can use it to create art of different types. Some artists create purely digital art, others create mixed-media installations that combine technology with other materials and media. Art that uses technology could be intended to be viewed by anyone using their own devices, or it could be specifically designed for exhibition in a certain space. There is a whole world of possibilities for how technology can be used to create art, and because technology is always evolving and developing, art that makes use of tech is too.
Digital art can be particularly accessible when anyone can view it, no matter where they are. If you can simply see it on a computer or another device, anyone can access it and enjoy it. There are also ways that technology might help to bring art to different exhibition spaces, such as through the use of projections or augmented reality or virtual reality.
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Buy Art with Ease
Technology has also made it easier than ever to purchase art. If you’re a fan of art of any kind, you can find ways to purchase art online and with tech tools like apps. Art is often very exclusive, and it can be very expensive, making it unattainable to a lot of people. While artists should still be paid their worth, online sales make it possible for people to seek out art that suits their budget.
Anyone who is looking to purchase art can find what they’re looking for online, whether they want fine art or they’re looking for something different. Online auctions are an option for buying art online, or there are plenty of sites to explore to buy both art and crafts. Options such as Etsy allow just about anyone to list their art for sale, while many artists also choose to have their own websites and social media pages to sell their work. Of course, many physical galleries have also expanded to online sales to help them sell more.
Find Ways to Make Your Own Art Using Tech
Another way that technology makes art more accessible is by allowing people to make their own art. There are many different ways technology can be used to make art, whether professionally or in a more casual way. People use computer software, mobile apps, and various other types of technology to make art. Technology can be used to make different
