New York, the city that never sleeps, is tourist destination #1 for art lovers around the world. This melting pot of culture and center of world trade keeps our art scene fresh and ever-evolving. With 83 museums in the five boroughs and literally hundreds of art galleries in Manhattan alone, New York City is the most exciting place to be when it comes to contemporary art.
Taken from You Are Here Guide
Whether you are visiting New York City or have lived here forever, here are five of Agora Gallery’s top picks for the smart phone apps you’ll need if you want to make the most of your art experiences.
5 Essential Apps for NYC Art Tourists
1. artbit
We have mentioned artbit before, not only because Agora Gallery was the first gallery to test pilot the app, but because it promises to revolutionize the way we interact with art in galleries and museums. Point your phone at any work of art and click to get further information on the piece and the artist. You can also use artbit to share and review the works and listen to audio about specific works. Super tourist-friendly, artbit is available in English and 30 other languages!
Cost: Free
2. NYArtbeat
The New York art world is one of the busiest, with events and exhibitions constantly going on. NYArtbeat stays on top of these happenings, allowing you to browse all art-related events by popularity, media, area, or dates. The GPS feature also allows you to find events within walking distance at any time. And, it’ll even map out your route for you!
Cost: $1.99
Get NYArtbeat on Google Play →
Get NYArtbeat on the App Store →
3. MoMA app
Any art lover visiting New York is going to check out the MoMA at some point. So why not also check out their app? It is only available on iPhone, unfortunately, but it is free, and the app allows you to become your own docent, with direct access to audio from artists, curators, and other art experts on the specific collections before you.
Cost: Free
Get the MoMA app on the App Store →
4. Street Art NYC
Word on the street has it you like street art. So do we. Of course, it’s one of the harder art markets to keep up with, so Street Art NYC can show you locations and displays of latest street art, with an up-to-date map, home feed of recent works. Narrow your search by filtering the map with your favorite artists and share the works you love. This one, too, is iPhone only.
Cost: $2.99
Get Street Art NYC on the App Store →
The Street Art NYC App
5. ARTLOCAL
Be in-the-know like a local with ARTLOCAL. This great app lets you in on all the happenings in the art world, from opening receptions and events, to current exhibitions. ARTLOCAL will also help you plan your trip so you can rest easy. Browse openings and exhibitions, explore nearby events, plan trips, and get push notifications on your favorite artists and galleries. Again, this app is only available on iPhone, but they say they’ll be coming soon to Android, so we’re keeping our eyes peeled!
Cost: Free
Get ARTLOCAL on the App Store →
Bonus: MTA Apps
One of the biggest mistakes tourists make when it comes to visiting New York is not preparing themselves for the (often confusing) MTA system. When you want to get to the Bushwick galleries from Chelsea, you’re going to want an app to help you get there. Google Maps tries, but it often isn’t updated with service changes, delays, or other outages. For this reason, we recommend strongly that you get a transit app to keep you updated with this information.
NYC Subway Real Time For Android, this app is the forerunner in NYC subway updates.
You can set it to alert you at specific times for specific lines, or you can just check it on-the-go to make sure your trains are running on time. This app pulls its information directly from the MTA website, so it’s highly reliable and up to date.
Cost: Free
Get NYC Subway Real Time on Google Play →
As of August 2015, Subway Real Time is not available for the iPhone. That’s why we’re recommending Transit App. The nifty thing about this one is that it has the subway schedules memorized, so when you’re offline (or subterranean), you can get a good approximation for when the next train is coming. Just be aware, when you are offline your app isn’t getting updated with service delays!
Cost: Free
Get Transit App on the App Store →
You’ll also want to download a free PDF of the subway map so that you can view the map when you’re underground without access to internet or 4G.
Image from http://www.mta.info/
Finally, once you’re on the subway, you are very likely to come across some interesting (often transit/NYC themed artwork). The MTA collaborated on an app that lets you identify these pieces and learn more about the artists.
Cost: Free
Get the Meridian Arts & Design app on the App Store →
Get the Meridian Arts & Design app on Google Play →
Great I really like this Art & Fashion collections such a Unique Collection. Thanks For Sharing !!
Hi, after reading this awesome post i am too happy to share my knowledge here with colleagues.|