See El Segundo’s public art through an augmented reality lens

There’s about to be a new way to interact with public art around El Segundo.

The city, the El Segundo Art Walk and Snap Inc., the company that created the Snapchat social media platform, will launch an augmented reality art experience next week that will bring existing murals and monuments to life — and add some new pieces to the fold.

The project, dubbed El Segundo AR, will premiere Saturday, Aug. 26, at the El Segundo Art Walk.

El Segundo and Snap Inc. will launch El Segundo AR, a project that will turn the city’s public art into an augmented reality experience, Saturday, Aug. 26 at the El Segundo Art Walk. (Graphic from City of El Segundo)

El Segundo and Snap Inc. will launch El Segundo AR, a project that will turn the city’s public art into an augmented reality experience, Saturday, Aug. 26 at the El Segundo Art Walk. In this 2018 file photo, graphic and visual artist John Van Hamersveld, project site of the 510-foot round mural installation on Tuesday, April 24,2018 in El Segundo. The mural marks the completion of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s (LADWP) Scattergood tank renewal project. This art mural is comprised of 51 individual panels that are10-foot by 32-foot each. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

“This initiative will shine a light on each of these pieces to be discovered and experienced all in one place,” El Segundo Art Walk Director John McCullough said Thursday, Aug. 17.

Eleven public art pieces throughout the city will be on an El Segundo art map, using Snap’s advanced augmented reality technology.

Two new augmented reality murals will also be put in, as well as an AR installation at City Hall Plaza. The AR experience will feature the murals “Moving Forward” by Andrew Hem at Labib Funk and Associates on Main Street, and “The Fox” by Bunnie Reiss at Sweet Spot Media on Grand Avenue.

The installation, meanwhile, will be an outside museum of sorts, McCullough said, designed to highlight public art and encourage people to discover the real, live pieces throughout El Segundo. As someone moves through the plaza, images of the current public art pieces in the city will become visible through their smartphone, he added.

Similar to other augmented reality experiences, individuals will use their phones or iPads to scan a “Snapcode,” McCullough said. Just like scanning a QR code, the Snapcode will take the screen to an @ElSegundoAR profile on Snapchat, where people can then to use the AR lens designed for the respective mural.

And image of a fox, for example, will start to move, he added, or flowers will float around the alleyway.

“Augmented reality murals,” McCullough said, “are a fantastic way to breathe new life into the public art that residents have grown accustomed to; this technology is truly incredible.”

People will be able to view the whole art map online and on the Snapchat app by searching for the account @ElSegundoAR.

The AR design company Reality Experience Design, meanwhile, is creating and developing the AR murals, the installation at City Hall and the El Segundo Art Map. The city contracted its founder, Christian Enriquez, and his team to produce the four experiences.

“We live in such a wonderful age where art, technology, and the physical world can merge as one,” Enriquez said in a Wednesday press release. “With limitless possibilities for integrating AR into our everyday lives, if you can imagine it, you can create it.”

Here’s where to find the upcoming AR monuments and murals:

El Segundo paid for the $30,000 project through its Cultural Development Fund, which is used to provide residential and business community members with public spaces, structures and experiences that enhance the character of the city through art.

Snap Inc. has also created a partnership with El Segundo’s Da Vinci Schools, during which the company will run a Snap AR Lens Challenge, where students can create and design their own augmented reality experiences using Snap’s Lens Studio software. The program will use a mix of self-guided modules and live workshops by AR experts to transform students from curious explorers to AR developers.

“Through this partnership,” Lindsey Heisser, manager of Global Philanthropy at Snap, said in the press release, “we look forward to inspiring the Da Vinci students with the endless possibilities of augmented reality and encouraging them to become AR creators.”

City officials also look forward to the experience.

“El Segundo has long been a birthplace of innovation, including the creation of GPS, rockets, amazing toys, and so much more,” Mayor Drew Boyles said in the release. “This innovation starts with an idea, often sparked by some form of art; we look forward to potentially re-energizing public art in El Segundo.”

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