How Akron Art Museum turned free posters into participatory AR

The Akron Art Museum in Ohio, USA, has announced that it intends to bring interactivity and a unique art experience to the homes of the public while it is closed. The museum, like many in the United States, is currently shut to physical visitors as part of a public health response. However, with the launch of Interplay: Art Play for All, the museum hopes to engage the public thanks to an immersive augmented reality (AR) artistic offering.

The idea is that freely available posters, which will be distributed by the art gallery and several partner organisations, will offer members of the public an interactive set of options. All that is needed for these promotional works of art to function is for a QR code to be scanned into a smart device, such as a tablet. The idea of the art project was dreamt up before the coronavirus pandemic to display large posters in many public spaces across the city but it seems even more forward-thinking in the current, socially distanced climate.

Adana Tillman’s artwork becomes a creative starting point

The first poster for Interplay: Art Play for All was created by Adana Tillman. Born in Akron, Tillman’s artistic style can be seen in the poster. That said, anyone who scans the artwork into their phone will be able to transform the elements that make up her original design. The idea, according to the gallery’s creative team, is that the AR technology used for the project will enable users to blend their creativity with Tillman’s and to show it off within the wider community.

According to the Akron Art Museum, the project will provide the community in the city, which has a population of just under 200,000 inhabitants, with a much needed playful AR experience that places an emphasis on fun. As well as being able to make their own on-screen art from the AR poster that Tillman has produced, users will have the opportunity of receiving a print to hang in their own homes if they wish. According to Tillman, the whole project can be viewed as something of a love letter to Akron’s citizens. This is why much of her artwork for the poster includes imagery from the city that locals will immediately recognise although, such local sights feature with the artist’s perspective very much on show.

Combining Art and Technology

Seema Rao, the gallery’s Deputy Director and Chief Experience Officer, said that she was excited to bring something new to the city that people could access from home. This was especially the case, she added, because the current healthcare crisis has meant people have had to be inside their residences for so long. Rao also said that she thought the project would assist with building a wider understanding of the artistic process of creating visual imagery. The Deputy Director also commented that she thought Akron’s inhabitants would learn more about the city they live in because of the project. “This was a great way for us… [to blend] technology and art,” she said.

Distributing 4,000 posters through local partners

According to Reggie Lynch, the museum’s Curator of Community Engagement, forging new partnerships with other organisations have been behind the collaborative effort that has brought the AR project about. Specifically, the project has been enabled largely because of the funding the museum was able to obtain from the Knight Foundation, a non-profit arts and educational foundation with headquarters in Miami. In addition, this project will involve the gallery making new connections within the local business community of Akron.

Akron’s distribution plan was as important as the digital interaction. The museum reported that it had begun giving away more than 4,000 posters, with local partners helping them reach households across the city. Adana Tillman’s design supplied recognisable local imagery, while the digital experience let participants rearrange elements and introduce their own choices. This connects outreach with authorship: residents received an artwork and an invitation to respond to it. For museums considering a similar project, the partnership network and the invitation printed on the poster deserve attention alongside the software. For a related example, see creative interactions in Norton Art+.