ArtLens App

The Map feature is your wayfinding guide to the CMA. Connect to the ARTLENS Wi-Fi network to use the wayfinding feature, Find Me, which finds your exact location in the museum at any time.   

• Map: Galleries are color coded and grouped thematically to facilitate easier navigation. Tap any gallery number to see a gallery description and all artworks in that gallery.
• Find Me: When connected to Wi-Fi, push the “Find Me” button at any time to find your exact location in the museum, then search an artwork and tap the gallery number to find the exact gallery location you are looking for.
• Favorites: Keep track of your favorite artworks by tapping the heart icon on any artwork in the app. All favorites are saved under “Favorites.” Favorites can be used to find specific artworks in the museum, revisit what you like, or share on social media.
• Featured Tours: Find the CMA’s “Featured” tours in the Tours section, and take guided tours. 

Additional Features 

• Content: The app includes every artwork in the CMA’s collection that is on view and more than 1,500 videos available for selected artworks. Bring headphones or earbuds to enjoy these videos during your visit. New content is generated on an ongoing basis. Changes to any object on view are dynamically and immediately updated from the back end systems across the app and throughout the museum.
• ArtLens Gallery: Access detailed information to guide your visit with the third and most innovative iteration of ArtLens Gallery, designed to remove the intimidation of an art museum and give people the tool sets to look closer and dive deeper. Features include physical docking at every interactive, accessing guided tactile descriptions, and more. 
• Tours: Take a tour curated by CMA staff and community members.
• Nearby Artworks: These are visitor-favorite and featured artworks.
• Gallery List: Within the Map, filter by galleries, levels, restrooms, elevators, and exits to explore amenities and artworks on view. 

During the museum’s open hours, an ARTLENS Gallery technician is available to provide technical assistance. Additionally, help is available by emailing artlens@clevelandart.org. 

ArtLens App contains interpretive content for every work of art on view at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Real-time updates ensure that users have access to the most accurate information available. The app is compatible with screen readers such as VoiceOver on iOS and Select to Speak and TalkBack on Android. Enable the service through your device’s settings, then follow the screen reader’s instructions to navigate through the app and to read information on all artwork pages.

The new version of the international, award-winning ArtLens App combines the most current technology and innovative design with a wealth of interpretive content for every work of art on view at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The app’s redesigned interface is clean and intuitive, and the wayfinding map is more responsive, using 240+ iBeacons throughout every gallery in the museum to improve accuracy and eliminate the need for paper maps. ArtLens App uses Bluetooth technology to connect to the museum’s iconic ArtLens Wall and all ArtLens Exhibition interactives. All artworks “favorited” at the ArtLens Wall or explored in ArtLens Exhibition game play save seamlessly to the “You” section of the app. Photos taken during ArtLens Exhibition game play save directly to a device’s camera roll. ArtLens App enhances the visitor’s museum experience by providing the option to design individual tours, offering tools to better understand artworks through augmented reality, and guiding users with interactive real-time maps. ArtLens App may be used on-site or from anywhere in the world.

The CMA established a standardized, well-documented development environment, including a master application programming interface (API) used for integrating all artwork, artist/creator, and location information; a common framework for defining and testing the content structure and staff workbenches needed to manage both existing and new interactives; a consolidated content delivery network platform for digital assets for all interactives (in ArtLens App, exhibitions, Collection Online, or any future interactive) for ease of management and troubleshooting; and a single method for connecting interactives to user devices for favorites and for saving user-generated content. The CMA’s custom-built catalogue-management system pulls live content, writes it once, and then updates it everywhere, making any artwork information or interpretive content updated by the curatorial, collections management, or interpretation staff immediately accessible in all digital interactives.