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30 April 2015

The Art Gallery of New South Wales has launched two innovative digital tools – Art Sets and Art Tours – offering new ways to interact with the Gallery’s vast collection of over 30,000 artworks.

Art Sets enables people to bring together material from across the Gallery’s website – for themselves or to share – and organise it on a personalised page. They can select any artworks in the collection as well as works from the popular Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes and ARTEXPRESS exhibitions, and videos, audio and blog posts. Users also have the option to add their own text and images to the Art Sets they create.

With Art Tours, people planning a visit to the Gallery can choose from a selection of tours put together by Gallery staff, or design their own tour by selecting from the artworks on display. The works are automatically sorted by location and linked to a Gallery map and to any available audio and video.

The development of Art Sets and Art Tours, which aims to enhance people’s experience and understanding of art, is made possible by one of the Gallery’s principal sponsors, State Street.

Art Gallery of NSW Director Michael Brand said, “Art Sets and Art Tours offer arts lovers of all ages the opportunity to handpick artworks that interest them and create their own stories. That is what makes these tools so powerful. Whether visiting us in person or online, people will be able to navigate and interpret the art in a manner that is uniquely meaningful to them.

“The online collection is already the most visited section of the Gallery’s website. This initiative is part of an ongoing strategy to deepen people’s engagement with the extraordinary Australian and international art in our collection,” Brand added.

All Art Sets and Art Tours can be shared through social networks, and the Gallery will feature a selection of user-generated sets and tours on the Gallery website.

To explore Art Sets and Art Tours, create a personal account

Examples

Art Set of recent Australian art acquisitions

Art Set of Torres Strait Islander art for secondary students.

Art Tour of Gallery highlights for kids