Once upon a time, or as my mother used to say, “In Former Times”, there were not that many art galleries to visit. In the cities that I know well, they have proliferated. Needless to say, estimates always vary widely, but looking at the first replies on the web, London has the most at 1500 galleries, New York City comes in second with 1450, Santa Fe at 250, and, interestingly, Paris has the least with 230. But even with that “few,” you can’t cover them all in one visit, or, in the case of the first two, maybe even a lifetime, and you may not want to. (Image Map Caption: Galleries in Downtown Manhattan)
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| Galleries in Downtown Manhattan |
How to narrow it down? We used to have magazines for that, and Art Associations had their booklets, but today, surprise, surprise, we have the internet and apps for your phone.
The first such app guide came out in 2014, the year I closed my gallery for good. I love the double entendre of the guide’s title, “See Saw”. It covers New York, Berlin, Paris, London, and Los Angeles. After a few years, however, it started to charge the galleries a fee. Not surprisingly, the magazines used to do the same, but it brings into question how objective they can be. Also, are they missing the top galleries that may have felt they don’t need that publicity?
“Showrunner” boldly claims that it “is the most comprehensive app for art discovery in New York City”, boasting “Showrunner makes it easy to explore all the art New York City has to offer”. I doubt it!
“Artwrld” takes a different tack, with “Exhibitions of the Day”, openings, and events as well as listings. That one sounds good to me because, as a gallerist, I would want to know what is going on and where I should show up to be in the know and be known.
What sounds more like the old magazines is “Exhibits in New York,” which has added art criticism. I think I would want to read that after I had seen an exhibition, so I could first make up my own mind.
“ArtRabbit” is London-based but has entered the New York market. It has the innovative idea of allowing galleries, museums, and even users to contribute information that is moderated by staff before being posted. If it is done well, I would like this, with no one individual telling me what to see.
These days, as a retired art dealer and a curator, we go to fewer galleries and more to museums. So, what is out there for us? Some years ago, we discovered “Bloomberg Connects” which covers 1200 “museums, galleries, gardens and cultural spaces”, internationally. As you would expect, that would be only the better-known in each category. The good news is that it is very helpful inside those institutions, as well as being free.
“Smartify” has information on museums and sites, often with audio about specific objects or places. It works with its limited number of supporting museums. If you are travelling, the app will certainly give you guidance on what you might want to see and learn about in a new city. A feature I like is that you can point your phone at an artwork and learn a lot about it. Obviously, however, all 1,500,000 works of art in the Metropolitan Museum will not be included.
“Museumfy” also offers the ability to take a photo and learn about a work of art. It is also multilingual and can learn your interests to supply more information along those lines.
As you might expect, “Google Arts and Culture” makes it sound like they can give it all to you. Obviously, no one site can. Not even all the apps put together can cover all the art in all its locations. But surveying which do exist, and there are certainly more that have been identified here, you can pick a number of free and fee apps that have a great advantage over what was available just a generation ago.
The first such app guide came out in 2014, the year I closed my gallery for good. I love the double entendre of the guide’s title, “See Saw”. It covers New York, Berlin, Paris, London, and Los Angeles. After a few years, however, it started to charge the galleries a fee. Not surprisingly, the magazines used to do the same, but it brings into question how objective they can be. Also, are they missing the top galleries that may have felt they don’t need that publicity?
“Showrunner” boldly claims that it “is the most comprehensive app for art discovery in New York City”, boasting “Showrunner makes it easy to explore all the art New York City has to offer”. I doubt it!
“Artwrld” takes a different tack, with “Exhibitions of the Day”, openings, and events as well as listings. That one sounds good to me because, as a gallerist, I would want to know what is going on and where I should show up to be in the know and be known.
What sounds more like the old magazines is “Exhibits in New York,” which has added art criticism. I think I would want to read that after I had seen an exhibition, so I could first make up my own mind.
“ArtRabbit” is London-based but has entered the New York market. It has the innovative idea of allowing galleries, museums, and even users to contribute information that is moderated by staff before being posted. If it is done well, I would like this, with no one individual telling me what to see.
These days, as a retired art dealer and a curator, we go to fewer galleries and more to museums. So, what is out there for us? Some years ago, we discovered “Bloomberg Connects” which covers 1200 “museums, galleries, gardens and cultural spaces”, internationally. As you would expect, that would be only the better-known in each category. The good news is that it is very helpful inside those institutions, as well as being free.
As you might expect, “Google Arts and Culture” makes it sound like they can give it all to you. Obviously, no one site can. Not even all the apps put together can cover all the art in all its locations. But surveying which do exist, and there are certainly more that have been identified here, you can pick a number of free and fee apps that have a great advantage over what was available just a generation ago.
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