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February 28 2019
By David Enns
Snapchat is helping to mark Black History Month with a new Lens that lets users visit a new Augmented Reality art gallery dedicated to young black artists.
Snapchatters can access the gallery by selecting the relevant option on Snapchat’s Lens carousel, this gives them access to “For Us, By Us: Art Through the Eyes of Black Millennials” where they can explore and interact with the work of rising artists including Gianni Lee, Bianca Pastel, Jessica Spence, Jameel Mohammed, and Paracosm.
Augmented Reality is fast becoming an important space for emerging artists, and social platforms such as Snapchat are slowly redefining how younger generations create, consume and connect to art.
The gallery “walk through” is set to the soundtrack of up-and-coming musician Ivy Sole.
This is not the first time Snapchat have ventured into the art world. Two years ago, it launched its first AR art installation that allowed users to view various famous art pieces in public spaces.
The Snapchat black employee group, SnapNoir, is behind the idea, looking to ‘honour the work being done by talented artists today and celebrate the black history of now’. The AR gallery will be available throughout February.
About the author – David Enns
David Enns is a freelance journalist working at the junction of technology and art. He has contributed to many of the best known arts publications in the United States and is currently working on his first book which will examine the Art in Virtual Reality.
