Welcome to cultureNOW's first e-newsletter!

Last night we had the pleasure and privilege of receiving a prize from Mayor Mike Bloomberg for creating one of the Best Overall Apps in the NYC BigApps 2.0 contest. 

What began as a cultural and historical map of Lower Manhattan in 2001 has evolved considerably in the past ten years. From Albuquerque to New Haven, from Providence to Portland, from Kansas City to Culver City, from Toledo to El Paso, from New Orleans to Los Angeles, over 28 public art collections across America are collaborating with cultureNOW to create a digital National Gallery of art and architecture in the public realm. Already one of the largest and most comprehensive compendiums in the country, the online collection encompasses more than 6000 sites and 11,000 images. 

We built the website and iPhone app for people like ourselves who are curious about the world outside of gallery walls. We thought about how many times we tried to visit buildings only to discover that they were closed when we got there. We know how frustrating it can be to make an excursion to a specific artwork only to discover that something else we really wanted to see is only a short distance away. We hated carrying heavy guidebooks around the city and wanted to address that. We believed that public art should be seen in context with architecture and history. We thought it would be great if it would be possible to actually stand in front of a building and see the rest of the pictures, the drawings, the interiors, the construction photos while you were listening to the architect explain the design. We wanted to look at ghost buildings, temporary works of art, and discover emerging artists and architects and really take the Museum outside of the Museum. We wanted to take tours on our own time. 

Our solution was to take advantage of the gps and the audio streaming technology of the iPhone to create a technologically sophisticated guide to the physical environment. This became cultureNOW's Museum Without Walls. There are now two iPhone apps: the full app and a version for Lower Manhattan, 322 podcasts, 19 tours from New York to Los Angeles. It's amazing how far we've come. We plan to share a few of the highlights from our National Gallery in these newsletters. 

Thanks for all your help and support. 

Abby Suckle, President