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Culture calling – right on your phone

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01 April 2010

Ever wondered how close you were to a Picasso? A hidden museum? The latest art exhibition?  Well, soon you will be able to find out with the touch of a button on your phone. 

Margaret Hodge, Minister for Culture, today announced a £50k grant to Culture24, to fund a fantastic new application for smartphones which will make it simple for people to find their nearest gallery, museum or art collection.

The final app will allow users easily to identify any nearby museums, galleries, heritage attractions or other interesting venues. The data will be drawn from the Culture24 database that covers the whole of the UK and contains details on over 4,400 cultural venues.

Margaret Hodge said:

“This app is all about making the world of culture more accessible to those people who are more at home on their mobiles than in museums.  It’s bringing the world of galleries, archives, libraries and heritage sites to people quickly and easily – and we hope it will be a very popular application.
“It’s a fantastic idea that came directly out of the Digital Engagement event I hosted in early March at Tate Modern, and is a perfect example of how quickly a great idea can be turned into reality when institutions work outside their silos.”

The Application will be based on the Culture24 website.

As part of our work to encourage and support all our cultural institutions to develop new ways of using emerging technologies to engage with wider audiences, DCMS has published ‘Encouraging Digital Access to Culture’, intended as best practice advice for the sector and a catalyst for change.

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Notes to Editors

  1. Culture24 is a charity organisation specialising in the publishing of information about visual culture and heritage in the United Kingdom.
  2. The venue specific content is generated primarily direct from the museums and galleries themselves (UGC) via the Direct Data Entry (DDE) backend of the site, the site is enhanced by editorial content created daily by Culture24.
  3. Information available on the site includes: news, reviews, resources, venue information, event and exhibition listings and a wide range of promotional activity.

Press Enquiries: 020 7211 6052/6277
Out of hours telephone pager no: 07699 751153
Public Enquiries: 020 7211 6200

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