New Tate Modern to Redefine Visitor Experience with Expanded Bloomberg Connects Digital Engagement Program

June 14, 2016 /3BL Media/ - This week’s opening of Tate Modern’s highly anticipated extension, the Switch House, will incorporate a major expansion of Bloomberg Connects, Tate Modern’s ground-breaking digital partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies to expand the ways in which Tate’s millions of visitors engage with art and artists, and a global Bloomberg Philanthropies program designed to increase access to the arts.

Bloomberg has supported Tate Modern in the development of cutting edge digital interpretation tools since the gallery first opened in 2000 but visitors to the newly extended Tate Modern can now discover a host of new ways to interact with, understand and debate modern art. The new Tate app uses location-aware technology to guide visitors on their journey around the museum and learn more about the art they encounter, while immersive ‘Explore’ spaces offer areas to discover the new displays in a sensory, interactive experience.

“Tate Modern is one of the world’s most dynamic museums, and we’re glad to help expand public access to its collections and give audiences new and exciting ways to experience all the museum has to offer. These innovative new digital tools will make visits to Tate more rewarding than ever,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

EXPLORE SPACES
Two ‘Explore’ spaces, designed with Oscar-winning visual effects studio Framestore, are located in the new Switch House. These immersive spaces will provide new ways for the public to discover art in Tate’s collection through highly interactive digital experiences. One Bloomberg Connects Explore space dedicated to performance art will be ‘aware’ of visitors’ presence through a network of sonar motion sensors. Visitors will use their own movements to drive a responsive content display related to the history of live art.

Another space will invite visitors into artists’ studios around the world, using floor-to-ceiling projections, light and sound to explore the relationship between artist and location.

TATE APP
The new Tate app assists visitors in their journey around the new Tate Modern, while providing access to in-depth information on individual works of art, artists and movements. Rich content from Tate’s digital archives, including new interviews with artists and Tate curators, is now available to visitors in the palm of their hand. iBeacons installed throughout the building also allow the app to tell visitors where they are, where to find their favourite works, and how to curate their own journey through the gallery. Offering a more bespoke, behind-the-scenes and personalised experience than traditional museum audio-guides, the app is available for the opening week on iOS and will be followed by an Android version in the autumn.

TIMELINE
Alongside these new innovations, Tate Modern also showcases its interactive Timeline of Modern Art, a 6.5-metre-long digital touchscreen offering a unique way for visitors to explore Tate’s collection. Presenting an ever-changing display of over 3,500 works of art by 750 artists, many of which are connected around a selection of 70 key movements in international art history, the timeline allows users to read more about key movements, see connections between artists across time, and wheel through digital images of iconic works of art.

DRAWING BAR
Visitors are also invited to the Digital Drawing Bar, a bank of digital sketch pads where users can create a visual response to their experience in the gallery and see it immediately projected onto the wall above them. So far over 310,000 drawings have been created since the Drawing Bar opened in September 2013.

TATE SHOTS
As part of Bloomberg Connects, Tate also continues to produce its hugely successful online series of weekly short films, Tate Shots. Having received over 6.5 million views, this series offers access to a wealth of content – from exhibition tours to artist interviews – not only to those in London or the UK, but to art lovers all around the globe.

ABOUT BLOOMBERG CONNECTS
Bloomberg has supported Tate Modern in the development of cutting edge digital interpretation tools since the gallery first opened in 2000. Creating innovative and inspirational tools to enhance audiences’ experience, the partnership has allowed Tate to set a global industry standard for interpretation in the visual arts. Tate Modern was the first gallery to offer hand-held digital tours, which went on to win a BAFTA for technical innovation and a Museum and Heritage Award for Excellence, while Tate Shots, a weekly series of short films produced by Tate, has received over 6.5 million views. Bloomberg Connects at Tate Modern has reached over 15 million people and forms a core part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ global digital arts and interpretation program, which includes among others the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, SFMOMA in San Francisco and Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.

ABOUT BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES
Through innovative partnerships and bold approaches, the Bloomberg Philanthropies arts program works to increase access to culture and strengthen arts organizations. Through a wide range of dynamic partnerships with visual, performing and literary arts organisations, Bloomberg Philanthropies is committed to supporting the arts. The philanthropy works in 120 countries and focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Public Health, Environment, Education and Government Innovation. In 2015, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed over half a billion dollars. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter @BloombergDotOrg.