The Vancouver Mural Festival is setting up an augmented reality exhibit in the city which can be witnessed while taking a safe, socially distanced stroll through the city.

“We’re doing this as a way for people to get out of their houses, enjoy downtown, walk around and take in some of the sights and some of the art, and some of the talent we have in the city, while we’re still in this pandemic. So, obviously, this is something people can do safely on their own time,” said Executive Director Andrea Curtis.

“It’ll be up for three weeks so it allows for a lot of time for physical distance, and to make sure that you’re going at a time when you feel safe.”

The only thing you need to take into the artwork is your smartphone.

“A lot of people have heard about virtual reality, where you put a headset on. This isn’t like that, although it is digital 3D work. All you need to enjoy any of this artwork is your phone, you scan the QR code, and then it pops up on your phone in 3D,” she added.

“Because this is so new, we wanted to have nice, big physical markers. So we have these giant sculptures, they’re about eight feet tall and they look like Tetris blocks, and all you have to do is download the Vancouver Mural Festival app, look on the Winter Arts map, and you’ll be able to scout out all of the different pieces.”

Some of the artwork has been produced in partnership with the IM4 Media Lab and quite a few amongst the 17 artists featured are local.

“You’re going to be able to see incredible artworks from people all over the world, everything from animated dinosaurs to giant colorful spindles, abstract artwork, and a lot of Indigenous pieces.”

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