Buy Street Art on Your Mobile Phone

Stood in a queue for hours to see the headline-grabbing new Banksy exhibition? Well now you can get your street art fix immediately with Street Art Dealer, a city-wide exhibition that uses mobile phones to take street art out of the galleries and back on to the streets. Using a simple tool which is already on most camera-enabled mobile phones everyone has a chance to own, interact, and locate art in their community.

Starting on Thu 9 July (from 1800-2130hrs) Street Art Dealer will have an information hub at 74-76 Horsefair (near Primark) in Broadmead where people will be shown a simple application on their mobile phones called QR (Quick Read) Technology. This technology will take users on a street art treasure hunt around the city where if they like what they see, they can cut out the pesky art market middle men and buy it at the touch of a button.

An example of QR Code

Get mobile and become an art owner – visit the information hub and get out on Bristol’s streets to discover what the city’s celebrated art scene really has to offer at grass roots level. On the opening night you’ll even be able to get a free limited release print. With work by artists including Turner prize nominee Tomoko Takahashi, James Powderley and Zeus on the Bristol streets there’s never been a better time to become an art collector.

Street Art Dealer is part of Media Sandbox, the innovative commissioning scheme run by Watershed that finances and guides companies in the South West of England to develop their ideas in digital media each year, putting the South West firmly on the digital map.

The Street Art Dealer information hub at 74-76 Horsefair (near Primark) in Broadmead will be open on the following days:

• Thu – Sat from 1200noon to 7.00pm
• Sun – 1200noon to 4.00pm

until Fri 31 July

Clare Reddington, Director of Media Sandbox, said:

QR codes have been around for years and are incredibly popular in countries like Japan. The UK suddenly seems to be catching on with everything from street lamps to Pepsi cans displaying them.

We are very excited that Street Art Dealer is leading the way in exploring both the commercial and creative potential of the technology, linking leading street artists more directly to audiences and potential buyers.