Nanaimo, British Columbia – July 12th, 2010 –On July 2nd, Gallery 223 in downtown Nanaimo launched their new, interactive art gallery website.
Gallery 223 is one of the largest Art Galleries in BC with over 10,000 square feet of space, a dedicated section to framing and prints, as well as several local artist studios. With global connections to artists and a vast selection of local art, they have a large variety to offer the art consumer. The question was how to make this art more accessible to the rest of the world.
“People want an interactive experience now. They want to get a feel for you and your business," said George Leshchuk, Owner of Gallery 223. George’s goal for his new website was to foster an experience online that would have global reach, while offering the same feeling of browsing the art in the downtown location. “Art is something you feel. If the website doesn’t represent that, you’re doing the art a disservice. We needed to make the art not only easily accessible, but also as enjoyable to browse online as it is in our gallery, which our previous website did not do.”
With the help of Array Studios, a local web development firm, George created a website that would allow visitors to easily view of all of Gallery 223’s art, see bios on the artists, and get a feel for the style of art Gallery 223 represents. “It shouldn’t matter where you are located," . George pointed out, "our website gallery is just an extension of our Nanaimo gallery space.”
In order to execute this vision, Array Studios leveraged their in-house website management technology "EVO". Sarah Bromley, Production Manager of Array Studios, noted, “When a business like an Art Gallery has a vision of a website they can manage entirely on their own, it’s a serious undertaking. The techology involved can get very intricate, but our system is built for just this sort of project.”
The result of the collaboration between the two companies was a website that can be maintained and updated with little effort by Gallery 223 staff, while continuing to provide a straightforward & pleasurable experience for the visitor.
"With our new website, we can truly present our Gallery globally," George commented. "We hope that not only will it bring the artwork to a greater audience, but also encourage potential visitors to come to Nanaimo to see the art for themselves.
To see the new website & try out the art browsing experience for yourself, visit http://www.gallery223.ca.
