Google Arts & Culture is a free online cultural discovery initiative: visitors use its website or app to explore artworks, museums, landmarks, exhibitions and other cultural experiences. It also has a separate, invitation-based publishing platform for eligible cultural organizations.
What visitors can do with Google Arts & Culture
The public service brings together digital material from cultural institutions and artists. Visitors can search or browse artworks, landmarks, World Heritage sites and online exhibitions, including stories contributed by cultural institutions. Google describes virtual tours and other digital experiences as part of the offering.
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Depending on the feature and where it is available, exploration may include viewing digitized objects or stepping inside a museum through a virtual tour. The current Apple App Store listing also describes app features such as Art Selfie, Art Projector, Street View, virtual-reality tours and curated exhibits. Features can vary; check the listing for your device and region for current availability.
How the partner publishing platform differs
The public discovery experience is for visitors. Separately, Google provides publishing tools and technologies for cultural organizations to digitize, manage and share collections and stories. Its partner tools include options for creating 360-degree virtual tours with Street View technology.
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Google describes potential partners as non-profit institutions, museums, galleries and archives with copyright-free or copyright-cleared material. The publishing platform is invitation-only, so eligibility does not mean an organization will receive automatic access.
How large is the collection?
Google currently reports the following totals on its Arts & Culture Platform Help page. These are Google’s figures, not independently verified counts, and may change:
- More than 2,000 cultural institutions in over 80 countries.
- More than 200,000 high-resolution digital images of original artworks.
- Seven million archival artifacts.
- More than 1,800 Street View museum captures.
- More than 3,000 online exhibitions.
These figures describe the scale Google reports for the service; they do not mean that every museum, collection or object is represented.
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Neither: it is an online cultural initiative and digital service, not a physical product or a single museum’s collection. Google calls the initiative non-commercial and says it works with cultural organizations and artists. Its stated mission is to preserve and bring the world’s art and culture online so it is accessible to anyone, anywhere.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where to access it
Visitors can use the Google Arts & Culture website or mobile app. The public overview presents online browsing, visits to cultural places and virtual tours; individual features may not be available on every device or in every region. Institutions interested in publishing should consult Google’s partner information, bearing in mind that platform access is by invitation.
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