Erarta in the Google Art Project

On 30th June 2015, the collection of Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, located in St. Petersburg, Russia, became digitally available via the Google Cultural Institute’s Art Project. Millions of people worldwide, who use the Google Art Project to discover and enjoy the world’s cultural heritage via 3D virtual tours of museums and gigapixel digital captures of some of the most iconic works, will now be able to expand their horizons towards Russian contemporary art. Google hand-pick some of the world’s most interesting and important collections for participation, with 540 institutions currently included in the project. Within that number, Erarta becomes Google Art Project’s first museum dedicated to Russian contemporary art.

Nothing can compare to seeing a true masterpiece in person, but such an opportunity isn’t always available to everyone. Thanks to the Google Art Project, one can virtually walk through the halls of museums in different parts of the world, gain access to some of the rarest art materials and resources and create one’s own gallery of favorite works. Further, every visitor is able to enjoy 360-degree views from any given spot via the Street View technology and zoom to see every brush stroke and the tiniest texture details of some of the world’s greatest works of art that were especially captured by Google’s Art Camera in gigapixel resolution. Today, anyone in the world who has access to the Internet is able to use the Google Art Project to stroll through the corridors of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, marvel at “The Starry Night” by Van Gogh on display at the MoMA, or discover some fascinating street art in São Paulo. Russia’s St. Petersburg is currently represented with three institutions in total with Erarta Museum, the country’s largest private museum of contemporary art, joining the world-famous State Hermitage Museum and the Russian State Museum.

“We believe the Google Art Project has a similar mission to that of our own museum – namely, to bring people and art closer together”, commented a spokesperson for Erarta Museum. “Projects like this one take a big step towards expanding the audience of art lovers worldwide and given that love of art can make any individual’s life more interesting and fulfilling, thus, ultimately, it makes the world a happier place.”

Google’s unique camera captured over 350 panoramic views of Erarta Museum, which were then all brought together for smooth navigation across Russia’s largest private collection of contemporary art that contains over 2300 works of art by more than 250 artists from all over the country. Visitors will be able to virtually walk through Erarta’s halls and also gain access to additional media content within online exhibitions that illustrate some of the projects exclusive to Erarta that were born within the museum’s walls.