SCVA AR 4+

Discover how context and environment affects your response to famous sculptures.

The Sainsbury Centre is one of the most prominent university art galleries in Britain, and a major national centre for the study and presentation of art.

Now, you can explore some of its key artworks at home through the power of augmented reality – as part of the Virtual Art and Environment Study Centre, funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

Since the 1970s, The Sainsbury Centre has showcased some of the most remarkable works of art assembled in the UK – with pieces donated by Robert and Lisa Sainsbury that span 5,000 years of human creativity. Representing works by artists including Henry Moore, Francis Bacon and Alberto Giacometti, alongside the Anderson Collection of Art Nouveau and the University’s Abstract and Constructivist Collection, the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts is a must-visit for anyone with an interest in artistic expression.

This easy-to-use AR app has been created to enable you to gain and understand new perspectives on significant artworks. Designed to be used off-site, in tandem with online courses available through the Sainsbury Centre’s study centre, the app lets you explore 3D representations of key works from the Centre’s Sculpture Park in different environments to discover how context influences our response to art.

Featuring artwork by Elisabeth Frink, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, Ian Tyson, Laurence Edwards and Antony Gormley, this app lets you position and place a 3D model of a sculpture in your environment and manipulate it, from rotating its position to changing its scale.Then you can take photos, save them to your device or share them on social media.

To facilitate the learning experience, you can explore the sculptures in any order you wish, plus view images and panoramic videos that show the sculpture in its original environment.

The Sainsbury Centre is renowned for its award-winning learning programme of gallery talks, lectures and art workshops. This app enables you to experience, explore and learn about important artworks virtually, without the need to travel.