The Gallery Companion (Pilot)
19/09/16
Very recently we were lucky enough to have an exploratory conversation with Mary Ann Rogers (MARogers); a well known artist specialising in high-end wildlife painting.
Unusually, Mary Ann Rogers publishes her own work, overseeing every aspect both of the traditional offset lithographic fine art printing and the production of cards and gifts, which are all produced or finished in-house in the North East of England.
The exploration of our conversation touches on an idea we have had for a while but as yet haven’t had an opportunity to test; the Gallery Companion.
The idea is to share the entertaining, heart-warming and sometimes quite personal stories that are embedded in all artworks, hidden just below the surface…to put them into the hands of anyone interacting with the piece at any time…to make storytelling part of the art buying experience.
Using the accessibility and flexibility of multimedia and the ease with which meaningful physical-digital experiences can be created; we are looking to kick-off a trial Digital Gallery Companion with MARogers – sharing the evolving stories of her art, the journeys that she\they have been through, what inspired them, who was involved and how it was actually done…
These deep stories, we believe (delivered for free to any handheld device) have the potential to significantly disrupt the status quo i.e. what people might expect to learn, do, see and hear when interacting a piece of art or a venue and potentially add value throughout a piece’s lifespan. It provides a bridge, a more private experience that opens the gateway into ‘knowing’ about a piece of art before you take the, often intimidating step, of approaching the artist themselves.
This is the 21st Century: You bring the tech (your phone or tablet) and the artists tell you the stories.