Apple Stores now hosting new art-based augmented reality experiences

Apple announced today that new art-based Today at Apple augmented reality experiences are now available in Apple Stores around the world, featuring works by leading contemporary artists, curated in partnership with New York’s New Museum.

Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s SVP of Retail + People:

Today at Apple offers a window into the creative arts made possible by our products and customers. We hope attendees are inspired by the incredible AR creations in the [AR]T Walk and in-store installation, and we can’t wait to see what our visitors learn to create in the [AR]T Lab.

The three new sessions include:

  • Interactive walk with works by some of the world’s premier contemporary artists.
  • In-store session teaching the basics of creating AR with Swift Playgrounds.
  • AR art installation viewable in every Apple Store worldwide.

Apple partnered with New York’s New Museum to select the following seven artists to participate in this project:

  • Nick Cave: Visitors can come into any Apple Store worldwide and experience artist Nick Cave’s AR piece “Amass.” Using the [AR]T Viewer in the Apple Store app, users can initiate Cave’s interactive installation, which takes the viewer on a journey to view and collect “Ikon Elements” and experience a universe of positive energy right in the middle of an Apple Store. Every Apple Store worldwide offers the chance to experience this interactive installation.
  • Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg: “This Is It” takes you on an outlandish adventure to a seemingly hollow tree hiding magical creatures worthy of a digital fairy tale.
  • Cao Fei: “Trade Eden” is part fun-house part automated factory, testing your dexterity for packaged goods while imagining new useless machines.
  • John Giorno: “Now at the Dawn of My Life” is a rainbow journey of homespun wisdom.
  • Carsten Höller: “Through” takes you through a portal into a world with no perspective.
  • Pipilotti Rist: “International Liquid Finger Prayer” bounces, taunts and sings as you race to catch a shimmering form.

The experiential walks take participants through San Francisco, New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo “as they encounter works by world-renowned artists, most of whom are working in AR for the first time,” Apple noted. Taking advantage of augmented reality, these new sessions  give store visitors a chance to see for themselves why Apple continues to invest in augmented reality. They launch on August 10.

To learn how to create your own augmented reality experiences using Swift Playgrounds, Apple Stores around the world offer a free 90-minute [AR]T Lab that does just that.

What do you think of this new AR-based offering from Apple?

Let us know in the comments down below.