The culture of art tourism has been out there for decades if not centuries. Starting from the origins of the phenomenon in the Roman Empire to the developing culture of the Grand Tour, art exploration, the appearance of the Louvre, Bilbao Effects, and many more.
Yet, it’s never been centralized or even completely defined. We might go to Paris for Louvre, to Madrid for Prado, and to New York for The Met, but how about other places? Are they less attractive to us or due to the lack of knowledge we are just not that interested? Maybe the answer is in the absence of the information and centralized aggregator that will help us to discover what we were missing. What if traveling to the new destination, we could know upfront not only names of venues where some incredible shows are happening, but also studio locations, contact of the artists, their favorite places, and more. How much more personalized and memorable this experience would’ve been?
Czech-American startup ARV found the way of putting it all together. Starting from the end of the last year and motivated by the obstacles of the recent worldwide pandemic – the ARV team launched Czech Art Map. First digitalized art map of the whole Czechia, including all 13 regions, more than 160 artists, and the most exciting shows, tours, and events that you could even think of.
The map shows a singular art image of the whole region and closest to the user locations with art-related events. Thus, the user can not only explore the area but make new connections, meet artists, and perhaps, purchase some artworks.
In addition to the map, there are Interviews with artists, mentions of their favorite places in the area, some recommendations on where to go, and even some tips on how to talk about art. The map is free and easy to use. It can be found on the ARV website and has a complimentary friending service to it as well.
As ARV founder claimed: “We wanted to create something that will be simple in use, informative and would inspire travelers to discover the region from the new side” (from the interview with Maria Meshcherskaya | 02/27/22).
So, if you are appeared to be somewhere in Czechia and looking for a travel companion, creative friend, or just someone to share the visit to the gallery with, you know where to find it.
The concept of “ARV Art Map” might become the new chapter for countless picturesque places all over the world, not only in Czechia, and the solution for the post-pandemic travel situation. If we could be intrigued by the beauty of the place even before we travel there, get in touch with some creatives from the area, and get a sneak peek at the local contemporary culture right away. How much more would we travel even to the neighboring areas?!
