Young visitors will be encouraged to explore the National Gallery using an immersive app designed to bring the historic collection to life.
The Keeper of Paintings and the Palette of Perception uses augmented reality technology to allow children to explore works of art, solve puzzles and unlock stories about some paintings.
The free app, designed in collaboration with a school group from Kent, introduces children to the world of the Keepers — magical beings tasked with caring for the treasures of the world. It has been created by immersive experience firm Arcade, who have worked with venues from the London Aquarium to the Imperial War Museum.
Lawrence Chiles, head of digital at the gallery, said: “It’s fantastic that we are able to launch our first dedicated app for children. It’s a really rich experience and it’s been such a rewarding process to co-design it with the children that have been involved.
“Arcade, the children and all the partners involved have created something really magical.”
It is not the first time the Trafalgar Square gallery has used new technology to shed light on its greatest works. Last year, it employed tech experts to create a virtual reality medieval church to house a 16th-century painting originally commissioned to hang above an altar in Italy.
Art lovers donned virtual reality headsets to see the frescoes and architecture that originally surrounded the work, as well as hear an actor playing an Italian abbot explaining why the painting was commissioned.
