Stealing the Show: The Art Thief App Simplifies Patrons’ Show
Share

Stealing the Show: The Art Thief App Simplifies Patrons’ Show

This post modified from “Make the Most out of Patrons’ Show With the Art Thief App” blog post that ran February 7, 2018. 

Today’s guest post is by Steve Roberson, the founder and president of Zurka Interactive, a web development and information technology company headquartered in Tysons. This will be his 6th year attending the Patrons’ Show. He typically sits in section A2 and would love to get your feedback about the app—be sure to rate Art Thief in the App Store or on your Android device!

The Patrons’ Show Fundraiser is a fabulous, unique event, and this marks its 50th year. Can you believe that?!

My hope is that if you’re coming this year, you’ll be using Art Thief of the Patrons’ Show, the app designed and built just for this event. If you’re not sure about going to the Patrons’ Show, stop that nonsense — you need to buy a ticket now. You really don’t want to miss out.

I’d like to think that Art Thief [available in the App store and for Android] makes the drawing a whole lot easier and the weeks leading up to the event more fun and engaging. Of course, I’m biased — I wrote the app. If you’ve read my previous guest blog post, you already know the history of Art Thief, so I won’t go into it here.

Using the Art Thief app at Patrons’ Show.

I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you about some features of Art Thief that many users aren’t aware of, but, before I do, let’s get something straight. Do you have to use Art Thief to have a fantastic time at the Patrons’ Show? Absolutely not. If you have a paper system that has served you well for years, good for you. I respect that. I won’t judge you.

We’re all here to have a great time and support a phenomenal institution, The Art League. In fact, if the people in the row behind you make fun of you for your paper system as they pour yet another glass of what is reported to be a well-balanced Bordeaux, let me know. I’ll talk to them. After all, I’m particularly fond of Bordeaux.

Swiping all around

When you’re looking at a work of art in the app, you can swipe left to jump to the next piece or swipe right to go back to the previous artwork. If you swipe up, it adds a star to the rating of the art, and, just like you’d expect, swiping down removes a star. This works on both iPad and iPhone. I find this particularly useful while walking through the gallery with an iPhone because I can rate the art and swipe to the next piece with one hand and a glance to confirm my actions.

Sneaking a Peek

During the drawing, you spend most — if not all — of your time in “The Show” tab of the app. It’s not obvious, but if you swipe from the left edge of the app, this reveals a list of available art in the order you’ve set up.

This is particularly useful later on in the drawing. I know I’ve been in the third round and thought to myself, “Should that really be my top pick?” By taking a peek at my list, I was able to quickly look at the other art that was still available. If you’d like to rearrange the order of the art you’re peeking at, just press down and hold onto the art you’d like to move. It will dislodge from the list, and you can slide it into its new position.

If you swipe from the right edge, you can reveal a list of all the art you’ve marked as taken. This is useful if you want to make sure you’ve entered the correct number. Or even just take one last loving look at that beautiful piece that got away.

QR Codes in Action

While you’re peeking at the artwork that’s been taken, you’ll notice there’s a link in the upper righthand corner called “Scan.” During the breaks, a QR Code will be be displayed on the monitors in the Torpedo Factory. Tap the scan button, and your camera will appear on your screen. Now point your device at the QR Code. Your phone/iPad vibrates once it takes a picture and then automatically updates your list of taken artwork, correcting for any mistakes you may have made. That QR Code contains the official list of art that has already been taken.

Thanks to Steve and the Zurka Interactive team for creating Art Thief. New art is being uploaded as your read this blog post to the app…so be sure to go add your favorites now! If you haven’t gotten a ticket to Patrons’ Show, they are going fast! We have a few left, you can buy individual and additional art (one artwork, no seat, supplement to your Patrons’ Show ticket) here. 

Can't get enough?

Sign up for our weekly blog newsletter, subscribe to our RSS feed, or like us on Facebook for the latest Art League news. Visit our homepage for more information about our classes, exhibits, and events in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.

Share this
Welcome to Artful Weekend -our listing of area art exhibits and events- This weekend: March 2024 Open Exhibit and Lines in Color by Alyse Radenovic…
Every week we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click…
    By Julia Chance Our annual Student/Faculty Show gives adults and youth who take classes at The Art League, and the artists who…
Welcome to Artful Weekend -our listing of area art exhibits and events- This weekend: 2024 Student/Faculty Show at the League; Metamorphic Reverie by Zofie…
Every week we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click…
By Julia Chance   The pickings are anything but slim when selecting award winning artworks for our annual Patrons’ Show. This year there were…

Did you know?

You can support The Art League every time you shop through AmazonSmile!

Simply set The Art League as your chosen charity, and every time you shop at smile.amazon.com, a portion of your purchase will be donated to support our mission to share the experience of visual arts with the community.