tagsmArt has launched the tagsmArt Connect, a free app designed to help visitors to art galleries get the most out of the experience. The app works across all tagsmArt-enabled museums and galleries that have installed Beacons – Saatchi, Gagosian and The Fine Art Society are among the early deployments – removing some of the mystique around art and artists and making it easier for visitors to explore and interact with the art they see.

“Our technology offers users the same freedom as an Oystercard or contactless payment, unobtrusively interacting with art works through your smartphone by simply being near the art work,” said tagsArt CEO, Lawrence Merritt. “This is just one way that the tagsmArt platform has the potential to be very liberating for the art world. With tagsmArt we are contributing to the physical internet, amplifying and enhancing the experience of the real world, while also adding much-needed context – and content – for everyone to be more inspired by art. All of this starts with ‘Connect’ but we have a very clear vision of all the other problems we plan to solve.”

The app is the first element of a new IoT platform created specifically to meet the needs of the art world in the modern age. The platform will initially work to transform the visitor experience, but then move on to launch digital tags for art works themselves, which will solve the problem of authentication and allow each artwork to tell its own story.
Using the app, art gallery visitors can access high-resolution images, history, background and forthcoming information about artworks and artists; share artworks with friends and family via email, text and social media; contact the gallery or museum to enquire about specific exhibitions or artworks on sale; and virtually explore visited galleries, anytime, anywhere.

For galleries, tagsmArt says installing the app and beacons will enable them to better connect with their visitors, as the app creates a direct channel between the two. It’s an out-of-the-box product which is quick and easy to install.

The app is available now for iOS and Android.