Overview
Today, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki opened its collection
of New Zealand and
international art to the world via the Google Art Project. The Art
Project aims to transform how art is viewed with the use of
technology, giving a wider audience access to a range of cultural
treasures.
Auckland Art Gallery joins an international list of leading
galleries, including MoMA, Tate Britain, Palace of Versailles and
Uffizi Gallery, that allow virtual visitors to explore their
collections and navigate within their museums using interactive
maps.
Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA) Chairman Sir Don McKinnon
says, 'We are delighted to be a part of this innovative project. To
help present some of the treasures of Auckland and New Zealand on
an international platform is an honour.'
'It is a fantastic opportunity to share with the rest of the
world some of the best of our New Zealand and international
collection,' says RFA Gallery Director Chris Saines. 'People can
learn about and enjoy New Zealand art up close even when they are
on the other side of the planet.'
Auckland Art Gallery has contributed 85 artworks to the project:
56 are from its New
Zealand Pacific collection and 29 by international artists. The
Gallery's two Senior
Curators, Ron Brownson (New Zealand and Pacific Art) and Mary
Kisler (Mackelvie
Collection, International Art), selected the works. Examples of
New Zealand art now
available via Google Art Project include Colin McCahon's On
Building Bridges (1952) and paintings by Dunedin-born Frances
Hodgkins.
View Auckland Art
Gallery's collection on the Google Art Project
The Gallery's photography team provided high quality images of
each artwork, so visitors can zoom in to see minute detail.
Educational features on each artwork are also available, adding
contextual information to the works, such as detailed descriptions,
artist profiles and videos.
The Project hopes to drive traffic to museum websites, inspire
audiences to learn more about art and share their discoveries using
social media. Virtual visitors to the Art Project can create their
own personal gallery by adding favourite works to an online
collection, which can then be shared using social features.
Phase 1 of the Google Art Project was launched in February 2011
with 17 partner galleries from nine countries. In its first three
months, its website received more than 12 million hits and 90,000
users created their own collections. It included 1061 artworks from
461 artists and 10 languages.
Phase 2 was launched today with the inclusion of museums from
more countries. The Art Project aims to be truly international and
include geographic areas not already represented in Phase 1. It
also aims to provide access to more art. The project has introduced
a wider date range to include more contemporary works and
additional art forms, such as sculpture.
For more information please contact:
Tae Allison
Communications Coordinator
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
P +64 9 307 7706
M +64 27 291 9953
E tae.allison@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz