BMW and Artsy launch new city guide feature within the Artsy app.

Hong Kong. In the evening of Wednesday, March 27, 2019 and timed to coincide with BMW’s partner Art Basel’s show in Hong Kong, BMW and Artsy reline their long-term partnership: a new city guide feature within the Artsy app. The feature will be unveiled to users at an event co-hosted by BMW and Artsy and allows them to explore major museum exhibitions, art fairs, and gallery shows in six art-world centers across three continents, including New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris, Los Angeles, and Berlin. The app update will be available for iOS users from Wednesday, March 27, 2019.

Further building on Artsy’s personalized, comprehensive, and intuitive art buying experience, the new city guide feature will create a seamless discover-to-collect experience for Artsy buyers. Users of the feature will be able to navigate around any one of the six featured cities with in-app GPS, discover current exhibitions and fairs taking place in the vicinity, browse works and artists showcased, and buy from galleries and fairs directly, all within the Artsy app. Because Artsy has the world’s largest partner network - 3,000+ galleries, 800+ museums, and 80+ art fairs across over 90 countries - the city guide will provide the most extensive opportunities for art discovery available.

Additionally, users who have interacted with Artsy before will see a tailored selection of artists and artworks based on their preferences. They will also be able to save their favorites and explore the shows either virtually or in-person, as well as take advantage of the augmented reality feature to virtually place artworks from the exhibition or fair on their wall. Thanks to BMW, the new feature will also include selected private collections located all over the world and accessible to the public, all taken from the BMW Art Guide, whose fifth edition was just launched and is a one of a kind guide. Furthermore, the user will have the chance to find respective fair activations by BMW worldwide, from displays of vehicles of the BMW Art Car Collection to other numerous initiatives from the longstanding cultural engagement of the brand will be part of the feature.

Fatma Collins, Artsy’s VP of Product: “We are thrilled to partner on the Artsy city guide feature with BMW, with whom we share a passion for quality and innovation. Not only is the feature the first of its kind to offer a seamless and personalized discovery-to-collect experience, its launch exemplifies Artsy’s deep product and engineering expertise, unparalleled industry network, and commitment to the nexus of art and culture. By providing greater access to art and deeper engagement with it, this initiative further builds on Artsy’s goal to increasingly support more artists in the world and make more art accessible to art lovers and buyers on a global scale.”

Thorsten Mattig, Head of BMW Sports Marketing and Brand Cooperations: “As a pioneer in technology and design as well as longtime supporter of the arts, BMW found the natural partner with Artsy. Believing in empowering innovation and aesthetics, and in creating unique and immersive experiences, we both aim to push forward the conversation around art and culture worldwide. We are really delighted to announce the launch of the new city guide feature, which is not only the next step of the multi-channel partnership, but the first of its kind to connect technology, digitalization and arts. As the interaction between the driver, the vehicle, and the digital world is a central element for BMW, the city guide is the perfect solution for everyone’s personalized experience of arts all around the world.”

With BMW at the forefront of technological innovation and digital leadership when it comes to its core business, Artsy is a natural partner in the cultural realm. For the past fifty years, BMW has been involved in hundreds of cultural initiatives worldwide. Both Artsy and BMW are putting their heads, know-how and network together to create meaningful platforms for contemporary art in the future.

The partnership of BMW and Artsy also includes an ongoing film series called the Future of Art, which profiles artists and creative luminaries such as Trevor Paglen, Carrie Mae Weems, and Elizabeth Diller.

To watch The Future of Art video series and for further information, please refer to:  https://www.artsy.net/series/artsy-editors-future-art

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About BMW Group Cultural Engagement

For almost 50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in over 100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus of its long-term commitment on contemporary and modern art, classical music and jazz as well as architecture and design. In 1972, three large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richter specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group's Munich headquarters. Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Daniel Barenboim, Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have co-operated with BMW. In 2016 and 2017, female artist Cao Fei from China and American John Baldessari created the next two vehicles for the BMW Art Car Collection. Besides co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate Live, the BMW Art Journey and the “Opera for All” concerts in Berlin, Munich, Moscow and London, the company also partners with leading museums and art fairs as well as orchestras and opera houses around the world. The BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all its cultural activities – as this initiative is as essential for producing groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a successful business.

Further information: www.bmwgroup.com/culture and www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview

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The BMW Group

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 30 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2018, the BMW Group sold over 2,490,000 passenger vehicles and more than 165,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2017 was € 10.655 billion on revenues amounting to € 98.678 billion. As of 31 December 2017, the BMW Group had a workforce of 129,932 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

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About Artsy

Artsy is the global platform for collecting and discovering art. Artsy partners with leading museums, international galleries, auction houses, and art fairs to create the world’s largest art marketplace. Artsy expands the entire art market by using best-in-class technology to effectively connect supply and demand at a global scale. With 3,000+ partners across 90+ countries and the most-read art publication online, Artsy empowers a global audience to learn about, discover, and collect art. Launched in 2012, Artsy is headquartered in New York City with offices in London, Berlin, Hong Kong, and Los Angeles.