Apsley Autumn Studio Tour 2021 is Launching a Tour App, Created by Peterborough Designer and Developer Brad Carson

Written by Clare Scott-Taggart

The Apsley Autumn Studio tour is joining the digital world of apps this season thanks to Peterborough designer Brad Carson. The first-of-its-kind, custom-made app allows you to preview the art and artists of this long-established tour and to easily map the perfect route to visit the artists’ studios.

A designer and developer for both web and mobile, Brad offered his services to the Apsley tour in order to create his prototype, and this unique app is the result.

The light went on for Brad when he was looking through a studio tour brochure years ago. He realized that he could create a digital tour guide that would exceed the limitations of a printed flyer by providing a more engaging and personalized tour-going experience: there could be curated galleries, artist bios, and the ability to build and map your own tour, for starters.

These elements are the core of the Apsley Studio Tour app, and provide a rich background to the artists and their work that a fold-out flyer never could.

Serendipity played a role in Brad choosing to work with the Apsley Autumn Studio Tour. His interest in drawing and art had led him to work in the field of graphic and website design, and in the last few years he has rekindled his interest in creating art himself through photography and painting classes. While taking an oil painting class, the instructor learned of Brad’s idea of creating studio tour apps and introduced him to the vice-president of the Apsley Studio Tour, painter David Grieve. Having grown up in the area, Brad was familiar with the tour and the community, and quickly felt he had found the perfect fit.

For one, the Apsley Autumn Studio Tour was the right size for Brad’s pilot project. With multiple studio locations, Brad saw how the app could help solve the logistical challenges involved in way-finding through the windy roads of North Kawartha in search of off-the-beaten-path studios. With 28 artists and 13 studios on the tour, Brad rose to the challenge of making sense of all the moving parts and incorporating them into a neat, seamless package – itself a work of art.

For Brad, this pilot project is just the beginning. He hopes to be of service to other organizations who see the advantages of having their own app but who have been previously excluded by the cost constraints traditionally associated with app development. The build-your-own-app platform Brad has been developing (“toureka.app”) could easily extend to other event-based applications such as festivals, art crawls, craft shows, and the broader appeal of the tourism sector.

The Apsley Autumn Studio Tour is delighted to be the test case for Brad’s project and is excited to pair leading edge computer design and technology with the art and craft sector. As Brad says, “I think it takes a certain unapologetic courage to create something and show it to the world. I have a new perspective and appreciation for art and artists.”

The Apsley Studio Tour takes place on September 18 and 19. For more information about the app head over to our download page or simply download the new app – Apsley Autumn Studio Tour – through the Apple Store or Google Play.