UP FRONT ENCORE
Art Hop Goes Green
New app will let attendees navigate monthly event BY ZOE JACKSON
The Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo will be saving a
lot of trees. The monthly Art Hop brochures it produces, delivers, and mails out by the thousands before each monthly event will be phased out and replaced by a digital app. The Arts Council hopes that this change, which will be in place when the monthly in-person Art Hop resumes, will make the event easier for attendees to navigate while doing less harm to the environment, says Arts Council Executive Director Kristen Chesak. “We have come to the conclusion that taking a month to try to pull together and print a brochure is probably not the best use of our resources,” Chesak says. “Because we have all sorts of technology at our disposal now, it might be easier for folks to use their phones to be able to navigate Art Hop.” The Arts Council has been developing the app, or responsive website, since last fall. The app has Global Positioning System (GPS) connectivity.
A new app, left, will take the place of the printed schedules and maps denoting Art Hop exhibits. Large sandwich board signs and posters, seen above and at right, will continue to mark Art Hop venues. Images courtesy of Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo.
12 | ENCORE MAY 2020