{"id":11565,"date":"2016-10-27T13:40:24","date_gmt":"2016-10-27T13:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artzealous.com\/?p=11565"},"modified":"2016-10-27T13:40:24","modified_gmt":"2016-10-27T13:40:24","slug":"6-must-have-apps-for-the-connoisseur-flaneur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/6-must-have-apps-for-the-connoisseur-flaneur\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Must-Have Apps for the Connoisseur-Fl\u00e2neur"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keeping up with the contemporary art world may sometimes\u00a0seem like a Sisyphean\u00a0task. Aside from the\u00a0endless\u00a0programming of most major museums and galleries, there\u00a0are\u00a0always pop-up shows, artist collective open studios, or intimate “happenings”\u00a0at alternative-spaces waiting to be discovered. Luckily, we at Art Zealous have gathered the best of current free<\/em> iPhone apps (that actually work!) to help you navigate art scenes wherever you may be. No longer will you have to sign up for a thousand different mailing lists or “like” a hundred Facebook pages\u00a0just to\u00a0stay in the loop!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. See Saw<\/strong><\/p>\n

If there is one and only one app you try\u00a0from our list, it must be the absolute queen of them all,\u00a0See Saw Gallery Guide<\/a>.\u00a0Covering international art centers\u00a0New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, London, <\/strong>and Paris,\u00a0<\/strong>See Saw\u00a0lists shows\u00a0by neighborhood, openings (this week), closings (this week), and “Editor’s Picks.”\u00a0The design is extremely user-friendly, paring the information down to its essentials (artist, venue, address). Galleries big and small feature on\u00a0See Saw,\u00a0meaning you can find exactly the type of art\u00a0you<\/em>\u00a0want to see.\u00a0When you click to learn more about an event, further information like gallery hours, press releases, and even photo\u00a0previews\u00a0are all available at your fingertips.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"img_6139\"\"img_6140\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Finally, you can “add” shows to a personalized map for streamlined gallery-hopping. Also available is a map with the “Editor’s Picks” already marked out. Talk about efficiency! (Plus, the app almost never crashes \u2013 unlike some of the other contenders on this list.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"img_6141\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. ART.WORLD<\/strong><\/p>\n

ART.WORLD is like See Saw meets Tinder. While its coverage\u00a0is also strongest in\u00a0Los Angeles, New York, London, Berlin,<\/strong> and\u00a0Paris<\/strong>,\u00a0ART.WORLD also allows you to look up other global cities for\u00a0museums and galleries. The biggest drawback of ART.WORLD is that you do have to sign-up or link your account to Facebook, but that’s also where its strength lies. You see, ART.WORLD presents a slew of ongoing shows, and while it’s not “swiping” per se, you respond\u00a0“Yes” or “No.” \u00a0This continues until you’ve exhausted the city’s art institutions.<\/p>\n

\"img_6142\"\"img_6143\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Afterwards \u2013 or during \u2013 you may switch to a map of all the shows and galleries to which you’ve already checked “Yes,” clustered\u00a0and summed up in regions. The great thing is that\u00a0ART.WORLD also allows you to mark items as “seen,” helping you navigate events\u00a0in a thorough manner.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"img_6144\"\"img_6145\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. nycgraffiti<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

While this is probably\u00a0not the prettiest\u00a0of apps, it fills a niche as yet unoccupied. The interface is beautifully\u00a0simple and accessible. Users add to a database of graffiti sightings \u2013 either via pictures or through “flagging” a piece of graffiti in\u00a0danger of being removed. Though mostly concentrated in New York, there are a few posts scattered on the East and West Coasts, Mexico, eastern\u00a0South America, Europe, and even Asia and Africa. \u00a0While in the New York region, however, its best to check out the much\u00a0busier\u00a0“flagged” map. Not a bad way to discover the Big Apple \u2013 especially if you are wandering beyond Manhattan!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"img_6146\" \"img_6147\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Exhibitionary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Operating in\u00a0Berlin, New York, London,<\/strong> and Warsaw,\u00a0<\/strong>Exhibitionary<\/a> is basically like the See Saw app with the option of adding “Favorites.” Of course, there are also the usual “Picks” and “Openings” filters. Exhibitionary is\u00a0useful in terms of expanding the See Saw repertoire (there are significantly\u00a0more galleries in its database\u00a0for the European cities), and of course, the additional city of Warsaw. The design is also a little more streamlined and minimalist \u2013 it’s a pity the app doesn’t include Los Angeles!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"img_6149\"\"img_6150\"\"img_6148\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. Street Art Berlin<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking of Europe… if you ever find yourself in that heartland of contemporary art\u00a0(Berlin) then this app is a terrific way to explore the city. Much prettier than nycgraffiti, but unfortunately the selection\u00a0is only curated by one guy \u2013 artist and tour guide Uli Schuster. It’s worth checking out, and we can only hope that the list\u00a0stays updated.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"img_6151\"\"img_6152\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6. Nearify<\/strong><\/p>\n

Strictly speaking, this isn’t an “art” app, but it is ridiculously helpful for tapping into\u00a0whatever<\/em> scene near you, instantly! Art, music, comedy, food \u2013 Nearify<\/a> has you covered wherever you happen to be. It has an extensive\u00a0roster\u00a0of activities grouped\u00a0in bigger categories like theatre, festivals, \u00a0or sports. There are even categories that are a little more mundane but nevertheless compelling\u00a0like technology, spirituality, and\u00a0workshops. It’s as if someone did all the hard work of finding every single Facebook listed event and condensed it into this little app! You simply check the types of activities you are interested in, and voil\u00e0, more than enough events to fill your calendars twice or thrice over.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"img_6156\"\"img_6154\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are social aspects to the app \u2013 a “Topics” tab for specialty interest groups and “Artists” tab for keeping up-to-date with your favorite performers, as well as a feed to keep track of what your friends are doing ’round town. Be warned that you\u00a0will likely\u00a0be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things you\u00a0could<\/em> be doing this weekend, heck, even this weekday! And when we said “every single Facebook listed event,” we meant it \u2013 somehow, an interest in “art” brought up listings for a\u00a0feminist painting\u00a0collective’s monthly gathering at the same time as an\u00a0art and music networking event. Not bad, actually. The more the merrier?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"img_6158\"\"img_6153\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HONOURABLE MENTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0following apps in one way or another did not meet our requirements, but we so wanted them to work that they deserve honorable mentions. In anticipation of future revamps or better development of these\u00a0original ideas, we decided to introduce you anyways \u2013 just so you can be ready, right?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HM 1.\u00a0NY Art Beat<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A brilliant app for New York’s art scene, likely\u00a0more extensive and thoroughly curated than our dear friend, See Saw. Vague mentions of magical map features, including a search query by walking distance.<\/p>\n

downfall:<\/em>\u00a0Alas, NY Art Beat is not free. It also operates only in NYC, leaving See Saw still the\u00a0more versatile app.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HM 2. Artbit<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Artbit held an enticing promise \u2013 the ability to scan artworks with their labels as a personal repository. It sounds like it would be perfect for gallery hopping, right? No more navigating through endless image lists digging for the artist who did that thing with the wall that you would never be able to recount to your friend. Sure, there was a map-like\/listing feature like See Saw, but it was definitely not very functional.<\/p>\n

downfall<\/em>:<\/em> To be certain, we’re not sure the “label-grabbing” bit of Artbit works all that well, either. It’s unclear whether they scan the artwork into some private database and bring back to the result, or whether it “reads” the labels live. Either way, the app needs a lot of work before it is going to really handle the volume of new art being produced and shown every day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keeping up with the contemporary art <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":11956,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11565"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}