Deutsche Bank’s Frieze 201 iPhone/iPad App

Frieze 2010 saw long term headline sponsor Deutsche Bank roll out a number of exhibition related initiatives including its ‘Education Space’ and ‘Artist of the Year Award’, but most interesting of all was its free iPhone and iPad app.

Developed by weareeverywhere, key features included an interactive map of the fair with a wayfinder feature directing attendees from stand to stand, a calendar and a favourites section acting as a personalised notebook and record keeping device, an ‘Art Finder’ utility offering a comprehensive search filter for visitors to navigate and browse the exhibited art works on their own terms by selecting specific media, size and price.

There is also a tool to enable quick access to all the events in the curatorial programme and a retail locator offering locations and routes to bookshops, cafes and restaurants. Transcripts and recordings of the Frieze Talks element of the fair (a daily speaker programme of artists, writers and cultural commentators such as Thomas Demand, Susan Hiller and Wolfgang Tillmans) were available for download within 24 hours.

Comment:

Frieze, one of the world’s leading art fairs, attracts 70,000 visitors each year. Visitors to this live art event are diverse – from gallery owners, curators, agents and artists, to collectors, enthusiasts and Londoners simply wanting to fill some time or be part of the scene. The impressive thing about this app is that it is a genuinely useful tool for all these visitor types.

Deutsche Bank’s understanding off this probably stems from its long term commitment to both this specific event and to art in general. The bank buys art from the festival for its own private collection, has its own exhibition space at the event for work from its corporate collection, publishes its own online magazine ArtMag and it also backs other art led initiatives such as co-funding Berlin exhibition venue Deutsche Guggenheim.

Link:

http://www.friezeartfair.com/updates/article/frieze-art-fair-2010-iphone-and-ipad-apps/