• Where am I? – a fully embedded map of Venice allowing you to find your location, Biennale venue
• locations and get directions, entirely independent of wifi signal
• Events – what is happening, where and when. A calendar of events with map locations
• Restaurants – Find the restaurant nearest you and then use the telephone numbers detailed to ring and reserve. All map functions (including pavilions and events) are also available in list format
• Social Networking – send favourites to both Facebook and Twitter, and follow a live Twitter stream fed by Christie’s experts on what’s happening on the ground at the Biennale
• Useful info – How to get vaporetto tickets, book a private water taxi, access tourist information, wifi in Venice, and routes to the airport, etc.

DOWNLOAD IT NOW FROM iTUNES

Christie’s Biennale App, a free application for iPhone, will guide visitors through the Biennale with GPS navigation, a scheduler, a restaurant finder and tips from Christie’s experts. A Twitter feed will keep visitors up to date with the latest developments.

Francis Outred, Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, Christie’s Europe, said ‘I am delighted that we are able to announce the first edition of Christie’s Venice Biennale App. The range of pavilions, exhibitions and events taking place in Venice grows every year and the need to see and find the very best of what’s on offer can be quite daunting for all visitors, from the very experienced to the very new. Offering a full itinerary plus the up-to-the-minute thoughts of our specialists on the ground in Venice, this iPhone App will hopefully become everybody’s best friend! In addition it will provide equally important information on the very best restaurants, as well as local information. Using state of the art technology to enhance the 21st century art experience in the most personal way is at the heart of our mission and this app continues the pioneering progression made with Christies auction App and the Christie’s Live internet function.”

The Biennale App functions include:

• Where am I? – an embedded map of Venice allowing you to find your location, Biennale venue locations and get directions, entirely independent of wifi signal.  Useful places like museums, event venues and restaurants are also marked
• Events – what is happening, where and when. A calendar of events with map locations
• Twitter – get the latest news on exhibitions and events through a live Twitter stream @biennaleapp
• Restaurants – Restaurants will be marked on the map and telephone numbers detailed so that you can ring to reserve and then find your way to the restaurant using the GPS navigation

Biennale App developers Theresa Simon & Partners and Flint Public Relations say “We trialled the app in 2010 for the Architecture Biennale and had over 5,000 downloads in the first three weeks.  This time we are embedding more information into the app so that users are less dependent on 3G coverage, which can be unreliable in Venice.  We are also working with excellent design agency M&C Saatchi Mobile who are creating a product that is not only easy to use and highly effective, but also slick and good looking.”

For further information and images please contact 

• Theresa Simon theresa@theresasimon.com  +44 (0)207 734 4800
• Wol Balston wol.balston@flint-pr.com  +44 (0)203 463 2080
• Matthew Paton mpaton@christies.com +44 (0)207 389 2965
• Cristiano de Lorenzo cdelorenzo@christies.com +44 (0)207 389 2283

Editors’ notes

Biennale app can be used on iPhone and iPad.

Christie’s

Christie’s, the world’s leading art business, had global auction and private sales in 2010 that totaled £3.3 billion/$5.0 billion.  Christie’s is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service and expertise, as well as international glamour. Founded in 1766 by James Christie, the company conducted the greatest auctions of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and today remains a popular showcase for the unique and the beautiful. Christie’s offers over 450 sales annually in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewellery, photographs, collectibles, wine, and more. Prices range from $200 to over $100 million.  Christie’s has 53 offices in 32 countries and 10 salerooms around the world including in London, New York, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai and Hong Kong.  More recently, Christie’s has led the market with expanded initiatives in emerging and new markets such as Russia, China, India and the United Arab Emirates, with successful sales and exhibitions in Beijing, Mumbai and Dubai. (*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium)

Theresa Simon & Partners Ltd

Celebrating 10 years in business this year, Theresa Simon & Partners is a PR agency that specialises in the arts, architecture and design. www.theresasimon.com

Flint Public Relations

Flint Public Relations is an arts and culture pr agency, working with individual artists to major arts institutions, both in the UK and at an international level. www.flint-pr.com

M&C Saatchi Mobile 

M&C Saatchi Mobile, a full service mobile marketing agency. Clients include Reebok, Yahoo, BMW, HSBC and many more. www.mcsaatchimobile.com

Watch this space!

Biennale buzz: see the Biennale App buzz page for latest images and info from the 12th Venice Architecture Biennale

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey with Vicky Richardson of the British Council and Liza Fior of muf architecture

The BiennaleApp has been an astounding success over the vernissage period of the Venice Architecture Biennale. Over 2,500 people have downloaded it, and all before the official opening. Whilst wifi can be a pain in the arsenale, the pavilion and restaurant maps do work independently and for any calendar issues you simply need to turn on 3G to download the latest events.

* Daily Events: Keep refreshing your app during the day as the BiennaleApp team will constantly be adding and updating events as they happen.

* Where am I? To find your current location or to save the location of your hotel make sure your Data Roaming is ON (Settings/General/Network/Data Roaming). NB for other functions such as calendar and pavilion searching, data roaming is not necessary

As Venice Biennale fever heats up (literally, with the sweltering new start date of 26 August for the vernissage), we bring glad tidings of an App that will guide you around the labyrinthine alleys and canals of Venice to find exactly what you are looking for at the world’s greatest architecture event.

The brainchild of PR teams Flint Public Relations (www.flint-pr.com) and Theresa Simon & Partners (www.theresasimon.com), Biennale App is designed to make the experience of navigating the events and exhibitions, that run through from the vernissage to the conclusion of the Biennale, a much simpler exercise.

Elias Redstone, Curator of the Polish Pavilion at the 12th Venice Architecture Biennale and ex-senior Curator at London’s Architecture Foundation, says:  “My abiding memory of Biennales is walking the streets, in increasingly frantic circles, sifting through a stack of timetables, press releases and maps to try to find the next pavilion or event.  And then struggling to get a drink, let alone a meal, at the packed out restaurants and bars.   All that will be a thing of the past, thanks to Biennale App.”

Working seamlessly with this year’s Biennale theme – People Meet in Architecture – the App will help visitors meet up with friends and colleagues, at what can be an unwieldy event, by telling users where the next thing is happening.

The Biennale App functions include:

• Where am I? (and what is near me right now) – a detailed city map so that you can find your location, Biennale venue locations and get directions.  With an inbuilt list of useful Venice locations you can also bookmark your own hotel, so you will never lose your way home.
• Events – what is happening, where and when. A calendar of events with map locations
• Bars and Restaurants – having visited a pavilion or attended an event, Biennale App also helps you find useful places like nearest bars and restaurants – use the restaurant booking link to make that often incredibly elusive dinner reservation
• Live buzz – keep up to date with the latest news on events and exhibition openings through the BiennaleApp twitter feed (as found on www.biennaleapp.com)

The 2011 edition of Biennale App will be a new bespoke version to guide visitors around the 54th Venice Art Biennale.

For further details contact:
Theresa Simon, Director, Theresa Simon & Partners Ltd.
e: theresa@theresasimon.com | m: +44 (0)7976 766 221

Wol Balston, Director, Flint Public Relations
e: wol.balston@flint-pr.com | m: +44 (0)7828 896 053