It's the Turner Prize - on your iPod

Dec 8 2007 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

THINK of museum audio tour guides, and there’s a vision of out-of-date portable tape players and itchy, uncomfortable earphones.

Tate Liverpool, however, has come up with a stylish alternative for the more discerning gallery-goer using the latest MP4 technology, such as an iPod, with an all new guide to its Turner Prize exhibition that can be downloaded at home and taken along when visiting the gallery.

Featuring 12 chapters, including two each on the shortlisted artists Mark Wallinger, Zarina Bhimji, Nathan Coley and Mike Nelson, the audio guide is free to download and can be found at Tate Liverpool’s Turner Prize mini-site.

Mark Wallinger was named the winner of the 2007 Turner Prize in a televised ceremony on Monday night, hosted by Hollywood actor and artist Dennis Hopper and attended by the some of the cream of the UK’s contemporary arts scene.

Wallinger put forward Sleeper, a two-hour film of him roaming around the National Gallery in Berlin in a bear suit, for the Liverpool exhibition – although he won for his political work State Britain, which recreated the anti-war protest of Brian Haw, who has been based at Parliament Square for nearly seven years.

All the shortlisted artists’ exhibitions can still be seen at the Tate until January 13, 2008.

More than 45,000 people have been through the doors so far.

Using the download, developed by Acoustiguide, visitors can now walk around the exhibition at their own pace and listen to prize judges including Miranda Sawyer and Michael Bracewell talk about the careers of the four featured artists.

The MP4 format means that video iPods can also display visuals of the artists’ work in recent times, using software including iTunes, Quicktime Player and VLC.

Jemima Pyne, communications manager at Tate Liverpool, said: “Tate Liverpool is delighted to work with Acoustiguide to produce a digital guide for the 2007 Turner Prize.

“It is important that Tate offers its visitors as much information as possible about the exhibition and the four nominated artists, to help people get more out of their visit.

“The fact that the guide is also downloadable from the Tate website allows visitors to see the guide before they visit.

“Tate Liverpool is always keen to find ways of taking the art beyond the gallery walls and to promote learning and debate in the gallery – this was the perfect opportunity.”

vickyanderson