The 'Magic Tate Ball' app

BU Interactive Media Production graduate Ben Templetons’ creative agency ThoughtDen have crafted a unique ‘Magic Tate Ball’ app for the Tate Modern.

‘Magic Tate Ball’ is a new location-based mobile app from the world renowned Tate gallery and Bristol based digital agency Thought Den. Taking inspiration from the iconic Magic 8 Ball, simply shake your phone and this clever app presents you with an artwork that is linked to your life at that moment.

Using date, time-of-day, geographical location, live weather data and ambient noise levels the app will select from a wealth of artworks from Tate’s Collection for the best match.

With artworks from Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet and many more, Magic Tate Ball presents a new, playful approach to discovering art.

Jane Burton, Creative Director and Head of Content, Tate Media: “I love the serendipity of discovering art through Magic Tate Ball. We hope it will please both existing Tate fans and new audiences who are interested in a more playful experience than cultural institutions typically offer.”

Wherever you are in the world, Magic Tate Ball will find an appropriate piece of art. On a sunny day, share in Constable’s appreciation of the great British landscape; if it’s raining you might encounter Matisse’s ‘Snail’; or in a noisy pub you might get a Georg Baselitz sculpture made with a chainsaw. Each work comes with a twitter-sized informative write-up. A hidden bonus feature in the app can only be activated when the user visits Tate Modern.

Ben Templeton, Creative Director, Thought Den: “Magic Tate Ball is an everyday, playful way of reaching an audience outside the more formal environment of a gallery. For each artwork we wanted to find a trigger in the user’s immediate surroundings which would help them engage with the work.”

‘Magic Tate Ball’ is available in the Apple AppStore http://tdn.lv/MTB-app and Nokia OVI Store http://tdn.lv/MTB-nokia from the 11th May 2011.