Today, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum announced the launch of AKGo!, a new audio experience created in partnership with Art Processors, a leader in interactive media and exhibition design. Through a series of six thematic journeys and one immersive experiential journey, AKGo! actively empowers visitors to explore the museum at their own pace and according to their own interests.

In addition to Buffalo AKG leaders like Peggy Pierce Elfvin Director Janne Sirén and Charles Balbach Chief Curator Cathleen Chaffee, AKGo! introduces more diverse community voices, including artists, a football hero, a comedian, an animal rescue expert, and architect Shohei Shigematsu himself. Each of the seven journeys is designed to engage different audiences, including adults with children, educators, excursionists and tourists, art experts, individuals new to art and art history, researchers, and experience seekers.

“AKGo! tells stories that could only be told in Buffalo,” said Christine Murray, Content Director at Art Processors. “Our approach from the beginning was to tie everything back to the community: the voices we’ve included, the connections we’ve highlighted, and the journeys we’ve devised. And because the app knows where you are, you’re free to explore your own way. Whether you are inside a gallery or out in the Town Square, the stories surface based on what’s nearby. That’s a really magical experience.”

“The emotion that you hear in the speakers’ voices is totally organic and real, recorded in the moment,” said Jenny Pachucki, Senior Content Developer at Art Processors. “If you're hoping for visitors to have authentic emotional encounters in a museum space, you have to approach content creation with an open hand and an open heart to generate that.”

“As the museum seeks to attract and inspire a broader audience, the audio experiences within AKGo! are a wonderful starting point for many visitors,” said Brittany Strupp, Manager of Interpretation & Docents at the Buffalo AKG. “AKGo! is an immersive experience designed to reward curiosity and in-the-moment discovery. Whether you are a longtime museum supporter, a first-time visitor, a sports fan, an architecture enthusiast, a child or just young at heart, AKGo! welcomes you into the collection with a variety of thematic, self-guided journeys.”  

AKGo! is accessed via an app compatible with iPhone and Android mobile devices. (The app will be available for Android devices later this month.) For the best experience, the museum recommends downloading the AKGo! app from the App Store or Google Play Store. Select from several journeys, each with a unique theme and narrator, based on your interests. When using the app, journeys and content will automatically surface based on your location, so guests are always learning and discovering new favorites. Use the "nearby" button in the app to find out what’s near you. 

The museum asks that visitors use headphones when using the app in the galleries. Headphones are available for purchase at the Shop or Visitor Services Desks. If you prefer not to download the app, journeys may also be accessed via QR codes located throughout the museum near the artwork labels. To access content via QR code, use your phone's camera or QR scanner.

The AKGo! journeys are:

• Now Hear Me Out . . .

Assistant Curator Andrea Alvarez and local teacher and comedian Kevin Thomas, Jr. playfully discuss contemporary art and what they see, what they think they see, and what it all means.

• Glass Steel Stone: The Building

Shohei Shigematsu of OMA New York shares the vision that inspired the Buffalo AKG campus.

• Victory & Defeat

Legendary Buffalo Bills running back Thurman Thomas and artist Patti Thomas (“The Ghost”) connect the trials and triumphs of artists in the Buffalo AKG’s collection with the ups and downs of the athletic world.

• Journey Through Modern Art

Beginning with the realism of Gustave Courbet and concluding with the Pop art of Andy Warhol, this journey sheds new light on old favorites by tracking the development of modern art in the Western world through thirteen works located throughout the Wilmers Building.

• Spotlights

Hear the stories and perspectives behind the artworks from the artists themselves, museum staff, and special guests.

• ARTimals

Learn about the animals in the Buffalo AKG’s collection as curators speak with an animal rescue expert on this playful journey designed for the museum’s youngest audiences, their caregivers, and the young at heart.

• Stop Look Listen: A Guided Soundscape

This journey offers opportunities for reflection and decompression in the museum with guided close looking by artist Julia Bottoms, accompanied by an original musical soundscape composed by Art Processors.
 

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About the Buffalo AKG Art Museum

Founded in 1862, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum (formerly the Albright-Knox Art Gallery) is the sixth-oldest public art institution in the United States. For more than 160 years, the Buffalo AKG has collected, conserved, and exhibited the art of its time, often working directly with living artists. This tradition has given rise to one of the world’s most extraordinary collections of modern and contemporary art.
 
In summer 2023, following the completion of the most significant campus development and expansion project in its history, the BuffaloAKG opened anew to the public. The project is funded by a $230 million capital campaign, the largest such campaign for a cultural institution in the history of Western New York, including $195 million raised for construction and $35 million in additional operating endowment funds.

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