By Phoenix Guevara, Feb. 11, 2025
For centuries, experiencing great art meant having the means to travel to major cities and pay museum admission fees.
The Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Van Gogh Museum all once housed their treasures behind physical and economic walls. Today, online platforms such as Google Arts & Culture have transformed this landscape, but with this digital revolution comes complex questions about how we experience and value art.
While these platforms have made it possible for millions to engage with artistic treasures from their own devices — including those who may never visit Paris, New York or Amsterdam — they also raise important questions about art appreciation and digital gatekeeping. As museums and tech companies digitize collections, they’re not just removing barriers; they’re changing people’s relationship with original works and raising concerns about who controls the digital art narrative.
“I am enthusiastic about the ways in which digital access can democratize access to art to those it would otherwise be out of reach to,” said Anthony Acock, chair of the Department of Art, Art History and Visual Communication Design. “While digital proxies of art do not necessarily replace the actual experience of visiting in person, they can be a powerful tool for access.”
These digital gateways to art come in various forms. Google Arts & Culture, which launched in 2011, features more than 2,000 prominent museums and archives, such as the Uffizi Gallery, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and even the White House. Its free online platform allows users to explore art, history and culture through high-definition images that reveal details invisible to the naked eye.
Museums themselves have also embraced the trend of providing virtual access to their collections. Online visitors can explore more than 500,000 artworks, including masterpieces such as “The Mourning Madonna,” “Study Head of an Old Man” and “An Allegory,” through the open-access digital galleries hosted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and National Gallery of Art.
The democratization of art through online platforms offers advantages beyond viewing access. It has opened up new pathways for engaging with cultural heritage. For example, Google Arts & Culture’s Indigenous Expression collection, created in collaboration with more than 50 museums, has enabled global conversations about art and history. This initiative has granted Indigenous communities like the Navajo and Tlingit access to artifacts from their cultures, which can strengthen their connection to their heritage.
Educational institutions worldwide have embraced online platforms as essential resources for creating, teaching and learning about art. At Cal Poly Pomona, digital tools are integrated in daily art education and have transformed how students develop their creative practices. The university emphasizes cutting-edge technology alongside traditional art education, requiring students to master both digital and conventional mediums.
“It is not uncommon for a graduating student from the art department to leave with a portfolio and website, as are the academic norms for art school, but a CPP graduate will likely have a robust motion graphics portfolio, user experience and interface design portfolio and augmented and virtual reality experiential design experience as well,” said Acock.
The shift to online platforms in art goes beyond formal education into the realm of personal artistic exploration. Online social media platforms have become galleries where established and emerging artists can showcase their work.
“Sometimes, art can feel like it’s only for a particular group of people, rather that’s economically
or racially, but through social media, I feel as though art is more inclusive and less scary to want to engage with fellow artists,” visual communication design student Ashley Kim said.
Big-name platforms like Instagram are filled with art pages and art appreciation posts, while TikTok has sparked viral trends centered around art history and creative techniques. Additionally, dedicated art platforms such as Cara and ArtStation have become essential hubs for artists to promote their portfolios further.
Although digital platforms have revolutionized art accessibility, they inevitably raise questions about authenticity and the nature of artistic experience. Though millions can now view masterpieces from their devices, the transformation from physical to digital spaces has sparked debate among artists, educators and students about what may be lost in translation.
“I do think being able to visit a museum in person is a whole other experience because you can appreciate and take in more of the scale of the artwork and the visuals, such as texture, vibrancy and small details that you would only be able to notice if you were standing right in front of the artwork,” said Kim.
Beyond the limitations of digital viewing, there are deeper concerns about gatekeeping.
Professor Ray Kampf, who teaches visual communication design, pointed to potential biases in how technology companies curate digital art collections.
“Tech companies are notorious for presenting their view of art and culture that comes through those who tend not to be the most open-minded when it comes to those areas,” Kampf said. “They gatekeep worse than a lot of museums, meaning they keep those who don’t conform to their view out of the presentation.”
Despite these challenges, the digital age of art seems irreversible. Innovations like virtual and augmented reality promise to further blur the boundaries between digital and physical art experiences in the near future.
Feature image courtesy of Connor Lālea Hampton