ArtPassport
Visit 360-degree art exhibits
Free From GalleriesNow, galleriesnow.net Made for iPhone Needs iOS 9.0 or later
ArtPassport does one thing, but it does it well, showing 360-degree views of art galleries from around the world. You can immerse yourself in current and archived art installations, and not just one or two – the scrollable, searchable list has nearly 100 choices and counting, from 35 cities in 23 countries around the world.
Tap one to learn more about the artist and exhibition, and then tap Artworks to swipe between close-up views of each piece to get their names and details, or tap Visit to find out how to see the art in person. The real attraction is tapping the big “360” button to be dropped into a 360-degree view of the gallery. From there, just rotate your device to see all around you; the artworks can be so much more stimulating in context than just viewed on their own. You can even zoom in and out.
You don’t get to “walk” through the gallery, but most of them have multiple 360-degree views so you get a good look at everything in the room. If you have a Google Cardboard viewer or mobile VR headset, you can tap the VR button for a stereoscopic view, which is more immersive since you just move your head to look around, but also means you lose the zoom feature. ArtPassport doesn’t have an iPad version – probably because there’s no Google Cardboard for iPad! – and that’s too bad because the 360-degree gallery views would look great on a bigger screen.
The bottom line. A worthwhile download for any art lover.