Foursquare for the Arts

In this course, we've been discussing ways to generate and maintain interest in the arts, especially in the local community. Since that first class meeting, I've been thinking of creative ways to accomplish this task. I am aware this class focused on public policy and the role of the government in arts but the government also includes its citizens. If the government can observe an increase in citizens' interest in the arts, perhaps funding for the arts would not be in danger.

After using the program Foursquare for a few months, I got an idea... Foursquare for Cincinnati Arts. In this post, I will explain what Foursquare is and how it can be used to promote the arts in Cincinnati.


Foursquare is a location-based mobile platform that makes cities easier to use and more interesting to explore. By “checking in” via a smartphone app or SMS, users share their location with friends while collecting points and virtual badges. Foursquare guides real-world experiences by allowing users to bookmark information about venues that they want to visit and surfacing relevant suggestions about nearby venues. Merchants and brands leverage the foursquare platform by utilizing a wide set of tools to obtain, engage, and retain customers and audiences. Foursquare co-founders Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai met in 2007 while working in the same office space (at different companies) in New York City. Working from Dennis' kitchen table in New York's East Village, they began building the first version of foursquare in fall 2008, and launched it at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, Texas in March 2009. As of February 2011, foursquare had over 6.5 million users worldwide. (Source: http://foursquare.com/about)

In 2010, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Waste Management, Inc. celebrated mayoral leadership and innovation June 12 by awarding Mayors Mark Mallory of Cincinnati and Jennifer T. Stultz of Gastonia (NC) first place honors in the 2010 City Livability Awards Program during the Mayors- 78th Annual Meeting in Oklahoma CIty. Mayor Mallory credits the win to Muralworks, a program of Artworks that employs artists and teens to create murals around the city. Since MuralWorks began in 2007, ArtWorks has painted 34 murals in 25 neighborhoods in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Clck the image below for a map of these murals.



My idea: these murals should be Foursquare destinations. Foursquare users (Cincinnati residents and visitors to the city) could document their presence at each mural just by "checking in." They could add pictures and even add "tips" to each mural's profile. This is a free service that is not time consuming or complicated. Foursquare could create a special "Public Art" or "Mural" badge and users would earn this badge after checking in at so many murals. Foursquare records the number of people that have visited each "venue" and how often. This program would aggregate quantitative data for interested parties. This program could also be used in programming to generate interest. Imagine a mural scavenger hunt conducted entirely on foursquare or a contest to check in to the most places. That would surely get people excited about art in Cincinnati and show our city council, state and national government that we appreciate art. I would like to extend implementation of the foursquare program to all public art works in Cincinnati if the mural idea is successful. These murals will not be painted over or intentionally destroyed by the city. Their life span is not as long as architecture but they are a part of the Cincinnati landscape. Right now, users can "check in" at restaurants, entertainment venues, and other businesses. By adding these murals (and later, other public art) to Foursquare, these works of art become tangible entities with addresses.

The National Arts Index reports Americans seek more personal engagement in the arts. Personal arts creation and arts volunteerism is growing. The number of Americans who personally participated in an artistic activity—making art, playing music—increased 5 percent between 2005 and 2009, while volunteering jumped 11.6 percent. (Source: http://www.artsusa.org/information_services/arts_index/001.asp) Foursquare would enable more personal engagement with art with the click of a button.