Snap Teams with LACMA & LA Artists to Launch Location-Based AR Art Monuments Around the City

Artistic depiction of food carts with surreal, floating objects and a city skyline in the background.

When most people think of Los Angeles they think of Hollywood and the movie industry, but in the last 10 years the city has rapidly transformed into a thriving new hub for visual artists.

In recognition of this phenomenon, LA-based Snapchat has embraced the community by teaming up with a group of artists to create a series of stunning augmented reality monuments and murals around the city.

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The immersive art series is called "LACMA × Snapchat: Monumental Perspectives" and was developed in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

"No Finish Line" by Glenn Kaino

Spread across the city, the five immersive art installations can be experienced at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, MacArthur Park, Earvin "Magic" Johnson Park, and LACMA. To find the experiences, users can simply tap the Map icon in the Snapchat app.

"Portal for Tovaangar" by Mercedes Dorame

"LACMA and our partners at Snapchat are fundamentally interested in storytelling, but in new and innovative ways, and that's what many artists are interested in as well," said Michael Govan, the CEO of LACMA.

"The Open Hand is Blessed" by Ada Pinkston

"The resulting monuments visualized by Mercedes Dorame, I.R. Bach, Glenn Kaino, Ruben Ochoa, and Ada Pinkston are not only relevant to issues of today—Los Angeles, civic space, community— but also to the medium of art, opening doors to new ways of thinking about art in both physical and virtual spaces."

"¡Vendedores, Presente!" by Ruben Ochoa

The city-wide immersive installation is also taking place just before the start of the International Day for Monuments and Sites.

Using the location-based features of Snapchat along with augmented reality to inject the city with a breath of new life after many months of lockdown is yet another demonstration of how AR is changing how we interact with art.

"Think Big" by I.R. Bach

Now, instead of limiting the brilliant creative touches of these artists to the confines of any one museum, AR is freeing these artists and allowing them to literally merge with the city as it continues to build its burgeoning art legend.

In addition to the art pieces, you can also launch a virtual map of LA that highlights the different monument locations by opening Snapchat and using the Snapcode below. And even if you're not in LA, you can use the same Snapcode to enjoy non-location-based versions of the art installations.

Cover image via Snap

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