Virtual museum opens for image library

The Museum of Art for the Arts launches this week, showing thousands of images from Corbis’ collection.

Each ‘floor’ of the virtual three-storey building in the Flatiron District of New York represents a different level of access for visitors, from general admission on the ground floor to members and benefactors’ access in two private areas.

The site contains audio tours and music provided by music search engine Trackdown, as well as live newsfeeds of both real and imaginary events in the art world, and discussion forums.

The gallery is ‘run’ by an imaginary team of trustees and staff.

‘We invite everyone to wander through our galleries and engage in a series of open-ended arguments and counter-arguments, or just write funny comments about the pictures,’ says Brooke Hendricks, mythical president emeritus of MofAA.

FWIS has worked with the picture library since April, when it created a downloadable pinhole camera called the Readymech for Corbis.

MofAA’s programme of s inaugural exhibitions includes Tes One, which features works by graffiti artist and graphic designer Leon Bedore.

See www.mofaa.org for details.