Art Gallery of Ontario Launches an Immersive Experience That Measures How Your Heart Responds to Art

As the AGO welcomes a younger and more diverse audience than ever before, the challenge of breaking through to audiences who don't consider themselves "art people" is even more important.

Gallery of Us, the AGO’s new brand platform developed with Zulu Alpha Kilo, shows how art isn’t separate from us, but is reflective of who we are as humans and how divergent perspectives can come together to create conversation through art. To demonstrate how every visitor experiences art differently, the AGO has launched a unique experience called the Art Rate Monitor that tracks visitors' heartbeat to discover what artworks move them the most.

To experience the Art Rate Monitor, visitors wear a custom heart rate monitor that tracks their time in the gallery using beacon technology. At the end of the visit, they receive a personalised visualisation of how they uniquely experienced the gallery and what the data says about them. This includes their own art persona based on the artworks with which they resonated the most, colour palette preference and specific exhibition recommendations. The idea is to provide an experience that shows visitors that their gallery viewing, can speak volumes.

All artworks included in the experience were categorised into personas based on human values, drivers and interests. Using a lighthearted horoscope-inspired approach, based on their unique responses to artworks in the collection, participants are matched to one of eight art personas. Each persona is characterised by a distinctive heartbeat image, inspired by iconic design cues from art in the gallery. As an example, a visitor with “The Powerhouse” persona receives a visual that evokes hand carved stone and sculptural elements.

“The Art Gallery of Ontario has always believed in delivering experiences that challenge long-held beliefs and create space for new ideas to grow,” said Kimber Slater, director of brand marketing, Art Gallery of Ontario. “We knew right away that the Art Rate Monitor was the perfect demonstration of that belief and brings some much-needed levity to an environment that can be seen as ‘stuffy’ or ‘boring.’”

“The Art Rate Monitor is an exciting way to expand the meaning of an art gallery visit. It’s so much more than an experience for your eyeballs. It’s also fascinating to understand how connected we are to the subjects, themes, history and even mediums on display.” said Jenny Glover, chief creative officer at Zulu Alpha Kilo. “We wanted to give people a sense of connectedness to the AGO, to make each visit feel personal because everyone experiences art differently.”

The Art Rate Monitor is free to visitors of all ages and is included in general admission. It can be experienced for a limited time until November 19, 2024. Paid media planned in-house at AGO leverages social and wild postings.