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Art on Call was funded by an IMLS National Leadership grant to explore the feasibility of cell phone-based interactive voice response (IVR) technology as an alternative to traditional audio tour systems. The project began October 2004 and was launched April 2005 in conjunction with the opening of the new Walker Art Center.

Project Team
Robin Dowden, Director of New Media Initiatives, Walker Art Center
Scott Sayre, Project Manager, Sandbox Studios/Museum411
Nate Schroeder, Webmaster/Administrator, Walker Art Center
Brent Gustafson, Website Designer, Walker Art Center
Plum Voice Portals, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system

Availability
Art on Call is available free of charge 24/7 from anywhere inside or outside the Walker by calling 612.374.8200 via cell phone or landline.

Content
The program was designed to be easily expanded on an ongoing basis. As of April 2006, it contained more than 150 audio segments on 94 works of art, including pieces in the Walker galleries and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, films screened during a recent festival, and architectural projects featured in a temporary exhibition.

Art on Call was designed as a comprehensive audio information system and provides callers with a wide range of data beyond the scope of most traditional audio tour systems. Information provided includes:

1. Comments by artists, curators, tour guides, and others about work on view
2. Dynamically generated lists and descriptions of current and upcoming exhibitions
3. Searchable lists and details about current and upcoming events (films, performances, lectures, tours, etc.) as well as an option to transfer a caller to the box office to purchase tickets
4. Pre-visit information, including hours, directions, and ticketing
5. Information on museum shopping and dining options
6. General information about the Walker
7. Call transfers to Walker staff and services

Delivery Options
Art on Call's interpretative material (comments about works of art) is simultaneously available for three different delivery devices: 1) telephone, via the IVR system; 2) Web browser, including a digital image preview of the artwork; 3) Web-based RSS feed (podcast) for MP3 players. The podcast is also registered and available in the iTunes Music Store.

Technology
Art on Call is delivered from a Plum Voice Portals' IVR system installed on the Walker's internal network. The current system hardware supports 24 simultaneous callers but can be upgraded with minimal cost. Due to the program's interactive, on-demand nature, a 24-port IVR system can easily cover over 150 requests per hour.

The Art on Call IVR server is integrated with the Walker's primary Web server and content management system, allowing dynamic inclusion of xml text-based Web calendar content (exhibition and event information) using a text-to-speech engine to convert text to spoken word. The Walker's internally developed content management system allows Walker staff to add and manage Art on Call content.