Arts Council Receives Grant to Create Art APP!Collaboration with city partners puts Lansing art on the map
Recently the Arts Council was awarded a $7,500 grant from the Capital Region Community Foundation for the creation of an art app for smartphones!
Partnering with Michigan State University, City of East Lansing, City Pulseand Greater Lansing Michigan Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Arts Council is preparing to embark on a year-long project to develop and sponsor a free mobile art app.
The app will help residents and visitors find and identify public art and art galleries anywhere in the tri-county area.
Art alert
Putting Lansing on the map as a vibrant and arts-centered city is part of the Arts Council’s mission, and the art app will help us do just that.
Plans include working with technology company Gelo, a Michigan-based technology company. The Arts Council and its partners will collaborate to create an app that sends smartphone alerts when users near a public art piece or gallery in the greater Lansing area.
Folk fest test
Plans are currently underway to create a pilot app that will be ready in time for trial during the Great Lakes Folk Festival, which is held every year in downtown East Lansing, Mich.
The pilot will include five City of East Lansing public art pieces. Select participants and festival goers will be able to download the trial app, and then test its ability to seek out art for their enjoyment during the event.
Art and placemaking
This project is a great way to provide opportunities for people to engage with the arts scene in the tri-county area, which supports the larger placemaking efforts that are currently in play. It’s one more way that we can put the arts at the center of economic development and growth and bring the community together around the arts.
We are extremely grateful for the financial support the Capital Region Community Foundation has provided to us for this project, and are excited to share it with the community. We will keep everyone posted as the project moves forward.