Founded in 1970, Art Basel hosts the Olympics of the art world in the form of art fairs that unite the most distinguished galleries, collectors, curators and art enthusiasts. Renowned for their influence and prestige, they attract tens of thousands of visitors to their annual events held in Basel (Switzerland), Paris (France), Miami Beach (USA) and Hong Kong.

Even in today’s online world, live events are a vital way to exchange knowledge, products and services. They bring like-minded people together for a rich networking opportunity that boosts brand loyalty and lead generation. As such, their importance can’t be overstated. The team at Art Basel understood this and set out to revolutionise their visitor experience by integrating advanced technology that added real value prior, during and long after each fair.

The plan was to create a premium Art Basel app, which would serve to raise the experience for collectors, galleries, artists and the global art community. It would need to be rich in useful information that is easy to navigate and intuitive to act upon. The app also had to seamlessly integrate into the fair experience by complimenting rather than distracting from the fair itself. It was also envisaged as a platform to increase engagement with the Art Basel fair community.

“UIC Digital has been an invaluable partner in bringing the Art Basel App to life. Their product and technical expertise helped us craft a seamless and engaging digital experience that transforms how our audience interacts with art. From early development to final execution, their collaboration and attention to detail delivered a product that beautifully captures the spirit of the Art Basel brand.”

Alain Brusch, Global Head of Digital Platforms, Art Basel

 

Art meets AI

The centrepiece of the app is the AI companion, a conversational AI assistant that users can engage with to build a personal schedule for the art fair and their time in the host city. Allowing conversational interactions in various languages, this global AI companion can answer a wide range of questions from what to see and do at the fair, to which restaurant to eat at tonight or hotel stay in.

By asking the assistant to “plan your day” the AI Companion will instantly build a suggested schedule of events and activities based on the app user’s profile. The schedule can be further refined by providing feedback to their companion, like ‘tell me more about any contemporary galleries’. The users’ default calendar will then be updated with their personalised itinerary.

Rather than searching through an infinite scroll of options a user could ask ‘I would like to find a moderately priced hotel in the centre of town for two-night, checking-in today.’ or ‘I would like a restaurant with authentic local cuisine’. Or if hard pushed you could simply ask ‘I am hungry, can you help?’

 

Overcoming three challenges

The first challenge we faced was data related. We needed to bring the AI to life by collecting and collating data from diverse systems. Then, restructure it onto a single, dependable platform before enhancing it with rich metadata for an improved user experience.

Our next hurdle was to develop the AI Companion itself so that it would provide reliable, appropriate and conversational responses across a wide range of contexts and topics, by grounding the large language model with up-to-date, CMS driven company data. While at the same time managing dynamic content based on the user’s preferences, behaviour and location.

The final challenge involved ensuring that the finished AI Companion was scalable with the ability to accommodate future needs, growing usage and technological advances.

 

Drawing on our expertise

Working closely with Art Basel’s design agency, we created a luxury mobile app, featuring an AI assistant, that provided an intuitive and bespoke user experience that drove engagement on every page.

The AI Companion itself was built on Azure OpenAI Services, specifically GPT 4o Large Language Model with our team teaching it how to be a personal Art Basel assistant with 20-years of art experience. Both text and voice enabled, its extensive range of features included knowledge about artists, artworks and galleries of interest, as well as engaging in discussions on art history and providing real time answers to queries.

The app itself merged AI features and traditional UI elements throughout, with fluid animation helping create a seamless UI experience. It also included smart ticketing and the personal organisation tools to make it a must-have for any visitor.

“Thank you for your exceptional leadership and tireless effort in steering the team and the project to success. Your focus and dedication have truly inspired everyone involved and ensured we reached this milestone together.”

Alain Brusch, Global Head of Digital Platforms, Art Basel

 

Creating a masterpiece of technology

The Art Basel AI Companion provided a tailored user experience not just thanks to its AI, but also the advanced and robust content management behind it. Flexible modelling allowed it to handle different types of data and structures, while enabling Art Besel staff to manage content with ease. At the same time, intelligent data processing and an AI-optimised data structure ensured users received real-time responses to their questions.

And between the app and its operating system was the middleware architecture. This ensured continuous connectivity with an outstanding level of security and enhanced performance.

 

Changing the way art lovers interact with art

The finished AI Companion has been a huge success, positioning Art Basel as the unquestionable leaders of tech innovation in the art world.  Redefining the way visitors interact with art, it provides a tailored experience, helping them navigate each art fair, highlighting exhibits of interest and offering an improved understanding and enjoyment of art.

It was our pleasure to bridge the gap between art and technology. Collaborating with Art Basel, we together transformed their art fairs with a groundbreaking experience that has inspired a profound connection with art enthusiasts.

“This app represents a significant step forward in enhancing the experience for our galleries, artists, and collectors, as well as paving the way for future innovations, including AI-driven solutions to elevate the customer experience further.

Thank you all for your hard work, collaboration, and passion. It’s been an incredible journey, and I look forward to celebrating further achievements together as we continue to transform our digital ecosystem.”

Craig Hepburn, Chief Digital Officer, Art Basel