A messaging service developed by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) could provide inspiration for museums in the UK that want to increase public engagement with collections.
Send Me SFMOMA was launched last year and has to date has sent out more than 2m images of artworks from the museum’s collection via SMS. Currently only available in the US, a text to 572-51 with the words “send me” followed by a keyword, colour or emoji will result in a related artwork image and caption being sent back as a text message.
The service is powered by the SFMOMA collection database, which holds about 35,000 pieces of art and their related tags and metadata. Only about 5% of the museum’s collection is on display in its galleries at any given time.
In a blog, SFMOMA’s creative technologist, Jay Mollica, says the service enables people to connect with artworks in “fun, new, and very personal ways”.
He writes: “In a world oversaturated with information, we asked ourselves: how can we generate personal connections between a diverse cross section of people and the artworks in our collection? How can we provide a more comprehensive experience of our collection?
“Send Me SFMOMA was conceived as a way to bring transparency to the collection while engendering further exploration and discussion among users.”
A text requesting “send me the ocean” might result in Pirkle Jones’ Breaking Wave, Golden Gate, Mollica adds.
The message services’ beta run saw more than 12,000 texts of 3,000 different artworks sent in four days.
Send Me SFMOMA was launched last year and has to date has sent out more than 2m images of artworks from the museum’s collection via SMS. Currently only available in the US, a text to 572-51 with the words “send me” followed by a keyword, colour or emoji will result in a related artwork image and caption being sent back as a text message.
The service is powered by the SFMOMA collection database, which holds about 35,000 pieces of art and their related tags and metadata. Only about 5% of the museum’s collection is on display in its galleries at any given time.
In a blog, SFMOMA’s creative technologist, Jay Mollica, says the service enables people to connect with artworks in “fun, new, and very personal ways”.
He writes: “In a world oversaturated with information, we asked ourselves: how can we generate personal connections between a diverse cross section of people and the artworks in our collection? How can we provide a more comprehensive experience of our collection?
“Send Me SFMOMA was conceived as a way to bring transparency to the collection while engendering further exploration and discussion among users.”
A text requesting “send me the ocean” might result in Pirkle Jones’ Breaking Wave, Golden Gate, Mollica adds.
The message services’ beta run saw more than 12,000 texts of 3,000 different artworks sent in four days.