Christie’s have announced the launch of an App that will revolutionise the way visitors experience the Venice art Biennale. Christie’s Biennale App, a free application for iPhone, will guide visitors through the Biennale with GPS navigation, a scheduler, a restaurant finder and tips from Christie’s experts. A Twitter feed will keep visitors up to date with the latest developments.
Francis Outred, Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, Christie’s Europe, said: “I am delighted that we are able to announce the first edition of Christie’s Venice Biennale App. The range of pavilions, exhibitions and events taking place in Venice grows every year and the need to see and find the very best of what’s on offer can be quite daunting for all visitors, from the very experienced to the very new. Offering a full itinerary plus the up-to-the-minute thoughts of our specialists on the ground in Venice, this iPhone App will hopefully become everybody’s best friend! In addition it will provide equally important information on the very best restaurants, as well as local information. Using state of the art technology to enhance the 21st century art experience in the most personal way is at the heart of our mission and this app continues the pioneering progression made with Christies auction App and the Christie’s Live internet function.”
The Biennale App functions include:
Where am I? – an embedded map of Venice allowing you to find your location, Biennale venue locations and get directions, entirely independent of wifi signal. Useful places like museums, event venues and restaurants are also marked.
Events – what is happening, where and when. A calendar of events with map locations
Twitter – get the latest news on exhibitions and events through a live Twitter stream • Restaurants – Restaurants will be marked on the map and telephone numbers detailed so that you can ring to reserve and then find your way to the restaurant using the GPS navigation.
Biennale App developers Theresa Simon & Partners and Flint Public Relations say: “We trialled the app in 2010 for the Architecture Biennale and had over 5,000 downloads in the first three weeks. This time we are embedding more information into the app so that users are less dependent on 3G coverage, which can be unreliable in Venice. We are also working with excellent design agency M&C Saatchi Mobile who are creating a product that is not only easy to use and highly effective, but also slick and good looking.”
