Wolverhampton gallery teams pop art with technology

The gallery has created the free Pop Europe! app, which acts as a pocket guide for the exhibition of the same name.

Connie Wan, the exhibition's curator, said the gallery received a £64,000 grant from the Esmee Fairbairn Collections Fund to host the Pop Europe! exhibition, which included the development of a digital project.

Dr Wan said there were lots of things they had wanted the app to do, and choosing what to include had been the biggest challenge.

"We have never done anything like an app before so it was a good opportunity to experiment really," she said. "We thought it was about time we caught up with digital technologies. We had six months to put it together which was a bit mental, crazy mental, ideally you would have way longer than that."

The app was developed with Surface Impression, a company which has worked with a range of museums and galleries on similar projects, and different departments within the gallery had input, including education and marketing,

Dr Wan said: "We wanted it obviously to be a learning resource, and we wanted it to have a game element - almost like a testing sort of thing for the user."

The appropriately named Pop Quiz section of the app gives art fans a chance to complete a multiple-choice quiz and unlock bonus trivia along the way.

The quiz had been popular, but the fact the app included images of the works - visitors cannot take photos of the exhibition due to copyright - meant people had a visual reference and something they could take away with them, and those who could not make it to the gallery could still engage with the exhibition.

As far as creating more apps in the future, Dr Wan said it is definitely something the gallery is looking at, as well as audio guides.

"I definitely think it is something we need to explore. Also, digital media isn't necessarily something for the younger audience. We found the users have been young professionals and some older people have engaged. The idea that digital is just for teenagers...it has debunked that myth a bit."

Those who download the app and show it at the gallery can also get a free hot drink from the cafe.

Pop Europe! explores the Pop Art movement beyond America and Britain, and is on at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Lichfield Street, until February 7.