Arts Digital R&D Podcast series

Want to learn more about the digital future for arts organisations? We’re excited to share with you the new ‘Arts Digital R&D Postcast‘ series that the Arts Council England has just launched. The series of 6 audio podcast magazine programmes explores the innovative use of digital technology in the arts and cultural sector.

The series is hosted by John Wilson, arts and culture broadcaster and journalist, and the first podcast in the series takes a fascinating look at topics including user generated content, social media and the influence of audiences in the art space.

Spencer Hyman, CEO and founder of Artfinder, believes passionately in the way in which social technologies have allowed us to explore and share our love of art more easily. ‘[We now have] the tools to get democracy coming into the art world as it came into music, literature and everything else,’ said Hyman. New technologies are allowing more people to engage with art, create their own voices and listen to what others say. ‘It’s the individuals making decisions and feeling empowered.’

So, how do you want institutions and organisations to connect with you? Have social media and online technologies changed how you interact with art and culture? Share your thoughts with us and with the Arts Council – tweet them @ace_national with the hashtag #artsdigital.

Download and subscribe to the podcast now. 

Read more about the new £7million Digital R&D Fund for the Arts, which is now open for applications for 2012-2015.

The Culture Cloud – vote now!

The Culture Cloud is an exciting new art competition, which innovatively bridges the digital and physical art spaces to showcase and discover new art talent from across the UK. Bringing the very best of the UK’s up-and-coming artists, this competition allows you to have a say and vote for who you think should win.

Prints from the Royal College of Art

The Royal College of Art is the world’s most influential postgraduate university of art and design, and Artfinder is delighted to offer a selection of prints from its Printmaking Archive on our Online Store.

These high quality original prints were produced by some of the RCA’s most prestigious professors and alumni, and sales go to the Printmaking Appeal Fund, which supports next generation artists and printmakers. Produced in limited quantities, these prints – a selection of lithographs, woodcuts and screen prints – are truly unique.

Mark Hampson, ‘Will.M.Shakes (and Ices)’ (2011), screen print, 61 x 48 cm, signed edition of 60 © Mark Hampson / Image courtesy of the Royal College of Art, London

Introducing our new iPhone app

Artfinder has just launched its new free app for iPhone and iPod touch - and we’re very excited. It’s going to help you find more museums and galleries near you, find out exactly which exhibitions are on, and give you beautiful visual previews so you can easily choose what you want to visit.

15 of Artfinder’s most popular artworks for £15 (and Free UK Shipping)

You signed up, you collected, and now you can buy! Over the past few months Artfinder users have been furiously collecting and sharing the artworks they love. To celebrate, we’ve collected together 15 of some of the most loved artworks on Artfinder and made them available as prints that you can purchase at our Online Shop from only £15.00 each (plus Free Shipping in the UK).

Francis Bacon, 20 years on.

This Saturday we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of the artist Francis Bacon.

Born in Dublin in 1909, Bacon spent the majority of his life working in London, developing a distinct style of figurative painting that has made him one of the most prominent artists of the 20th century. His work is instantly recognisable for its raw, introspective and captivating depiction of the human condition, focusing frequently on themes such as death, crucifixion and the human form. Acclaimed for his paintings of distorted human figures, he is a true modernist who worked at the interstice between abstraction and figuration. He died on the 28th of April, 1992.

Spring clean your home … and Spring clean your life!

Sandro Botticelli, 'Primavera' (1478), tempera on panel, Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy

Happy first day of Spring, art lovers! Artfinder is feeling positively radiant today as the Spring Equinox brings all the promises of the new season: longer days, more sunshine (here’s hoping) and the rebirth of nature. 

The Artfinder Online shop has launched!

Artfinder is very excited to announce that our new Online Shop has now launched, taking us one step closer to allowing more people to easily own affordable and inspiring art. The Online Shop will be a place to discover Limited Edition Prints by well known and emerging artists, and to purchase the art you love in an accessible way.

New features galore: exhibitions, following and more!

Artfinder is changing, rapidly. Blink and you might miss a whole host of new features on the site.

An interview with Song Dong: ‘Waste Not’ at the Barbican

Song Dong, "Waste Not" (detail) (2005/2009), Installation at New Art Gallery, Walsall, © the artist and Tokyo Gallery + BTAP, courtesy Barbican Art Gallery

We caught up with Chinese conceptual artist Song Dong at the opening of his latest exhibition Waste Not at London’s Barbican Art Gallery. His first solo exhibition in a major UK public gallery, this installation comprises over 10,000 household items hoarded by the artist’s mother over a period of five decades. This work acts like a family portrait, a tribute to his mother and their way of living in the aftermath of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.