The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) announced its interactive Rooftop Garden App for iPad is now available on App Store. The app is an enhanced version of the Rooftop Garden App for iPhone and iPod Touch, a multimedia guide originally launched in January 2010 on the occasion of the museum’s 75th anniversary.
From the museum that brought visitors the very first handheld multimedia gallery tour back in 2001 comes a new way to explore modern and contemporary art. The Rooftop Garden App for iPad lets visitors get up close and personal with both the artworks and the careful planning that went into creating the entire Rooftop Sculpture Garden experience. It provides access to the garden from all angles, with commentary about the sculptures, an interview with the architects, plan drawings of the space, a musical response by saxophonist George Brooks, a video feature on the people behind the Rooftop Coffee Bar featuring Blue Bottle Coffee, and remarks from SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra on the finished space. The iPad app, in particular, has improved user-feedback capabilities for Twitter and makes other user’s Tweets visible, deepening the two-way communication between the museum and its global network of followers.
“The traditional audio tour is ripe for reinvention,” says Peter Samis, SFMOMA associate curator of interpretation. “While traditional tours still appeal to many visitors, members of Gen X and the Millennials identify with personal technology as a lifestyle choice and are looking for interpretive experiences in the museum to reflect this reality. Our Rooftop Garden guide mobilizes a trove of information for on-demand use, with contextual material on tap to meet visitors where they are, both physically and conceptually.”
Both the iPhone and iPad versions of the mobile application were developed in close partnership with NOUS-guide, a leading Vienna-based firm that has pioneered innovation in the mobile space, including a deployment of 900 devices in over 30 languages for the European parliament. This is their first collaboration with a major U.S. museum.
The Rooftop Garden App for iPad is available for free from the App Store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.