Barrett Art Gallery Uses NFC Signs to Connect Art to Community

The Edith Langely Barrett Art Gallery at Utica College, established in 1980, was built to commemorate Edith Langley Barrett, a Professor of English from 1961-1973. Barrett, with the support of fellow faculty, wanted to provide an expressive art venue for UC students. The art gallery is continuing that initiative by using NFC to bring art into the students’ lives. This isn’t the Barrett gallery’s first time using technology to engage with its audience. The gallery first adopted QR codes to deliver content to the community but has since evolved to NFC.  GoToTags helped with this project by providing NFC printed stickers. The printed stickers are encoded with the artwork’s data so the user can see an image of the item on their phone as well as the artwork’s title. They will soon transition  into utilizing NFC tags for data access to their art collection as well as for digital object sharing. Ideas are flowing at the Barrett Art Gallery as representatives are brainstorming new and creative ways to use NFC to improve the fine art experience. NFC offers endless options bringing art to life for Utica College students now and in the future.