LONDON.- Galleriesnow.net has added its bookshop containing rare collectors’ items to its award-winning virtual exhibitions app ArtPassport. The bookshop contains rare items usually only available in-person at galleries, and a number of other new features. Until now these carefully curated collections we’re only available via the website but now can be bought with one push of a button. Although Virtual Reality has existed in many forms for years, ArtPassport have been the pioneers of VR exhibitions since 2017, connecting thousands of artists and galleries to a wider key audiences.

Along with the bookshop, users will now be able to read international art news covering everything from gallery updates, artist signings and interviews, new exhibition spaces, events and initiatives. The new app has enhanced Virtual Reality (VR) for a realistic viewing experience and now there is a detailed history and explanation of each piece of artwork with the option to ‘share’ favourite examples with friends. Browsing has been made easier with a ‘saved’ section allowing you to create a scrapbook of your favourite artworks and exhibitions and now with an added ‘NearMe’ option, users can search galleries local to them, wherever they are in the world.

Technology is dramatically changing the global art scene at a time when coronavirus is forcing art institutions to close. ArtPassport has seen a significant boom in downloads with a percentage increase in new users since March, showing consumer appetite for art and culture is showing no sign of slowing. ArtPassport was developed in 2017 and is the first of its kind to offer 360-degree virtual experiences of real exhibitions. It features over 500 galleries around the world in over 40 cities including 90 per cent of the world’s top 50 galleries.

The technology works by taking 360-degree photo spheres – multiple images taken from a single viewpoint with an extremely wide-angle lens – which are then processed, joined together and viewed through a special interface, either via the app or on the website or in full VR. The ArtPassport team have developed their own technology to create a result that is sympathetic to the gallery environment and artists, allowing them complete control over curation, photography and image rendering/colour balance unlike other solutions on the market. ArtPassport have a dedicated team of specialist VR photographers in London, New York, LA, Paris, Berlin, Hong Kong and Zurich.

Tristram Fetherstonhaugh, CEO and Founder of GalleriesNow said: “At a time like this, art is an escape and it helps to relieve stress. Tapping into creativity in our day-to-day lives will help us process the instability of life and come together collectively. The app features some great artists such as Cecily brown, Robert Rauschenberg, Daniel Buren and Mary Weatherford – to name a few. Now with the internet at your fingertips, ArtPassport will allow anyone to explore and escape into the amazing world of art.”

The art world is completely international, and yet even the most dedicated art lover couldn’t visit all of them. Now anyone, anywhere, can.

Features

• Bookshop with rare gallery publications, monograph & prints usually only available at exhibitions

• International art ‘NEWS’ section covering everything from gallery updates, artist signings and interviews, new exhibition spaces, events and initiatives

• ‘Share’ it option

• ‘NearMe’ option, users can search galleries local to them, wherever they are

• Browsing has been made easier with a ‘saved’ section allowing you to create a scrapbook of your favourite art

• Exclusive 360° images of exhibitions with zoom-in capability

• Exhibition details with descriptive texts

• Visitor information with maps and directions

• 360°s taken by GalleriesNow and available exclusively on the ArtPassport app and GalleriesNow.net website

• Well-established and international galleries, such as Blain|Southern and David Zwirner, as well as up-and-coming galleries like Annka Kultys

• Galleries on the app are carefully curated using GalleriesNow.net’s proprietary algorithm, and represent the leading galleries in the world

• Features new and archived exhibitions for those wanting to preview shows before attending, can’t attend or missed it completely.

ArtPassport is available here.