The Scottsdale Public Art Permanent Collection has enhanced eleven of its artworks using augmented reality elements which can now be viewed through a mobile app.

The new augmented reality features were launched back in November during the Canal Convergence 2020. According to a press release, most of the temporary Canal Convergence artworks and select pieces from the permanent collection were hand-picked to be enhanced with the AR elements.

“The augmented reality experiences were fast-tracked because of the pandemic,” stated Tanya Galin, Public Art Coordinator for Scottsdale Public Art. “We no longer could have in-person tours of the artworks during Canal Convergence, so AR allowed us to provide background information on the piece without a physical person standing there.”

The 11 permanent pieces along with the AR elements present animations and videos of various presenters talking about the artworks, similar to the temporary Canal Convergence artworks. The viewers will be able to see a superimposed image of the artworks and the hosts over their surroundings using AR as if they were standing right next to them.

The ScottsdalePublicArt channel of the Hoverlay app packs these AR experiences. It will also showcase the perspective of the artists, Scottsdale Public Art staff, or others associated with the pieces in AR.

“With these new AR features, people can find out more about the artworks than they would get from a simple plaque,” said Wendy Raisanen, Curator of Collections for Scottsdale Public Art, who is among the AR figures who appear at the artworks. “It was fun to tell stories about the public art in front of the green screen, and then see my avatar talking on the screen of my phone.”

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