Skip to content

gowithYamo – embrace your inner art-lover

Get some art in your life

Price: Free
Size: 84.3 MB
Version: 2.0
Platform: iPhone / iPad
Developer: Grandapps

goWithYamo

“Things to do” style apps, often powered by users, can frequently miss the mark – bloated with Facebook events and low-quality events to give the impression of the app equivalent of presenteeism.

Find out what exhibitions are running near you at any given moment

However, gowithYamo is all about art, and as you’d expect for such a subject matter, the app takes itself seriously (not in a bad way) and provides a range of art exhibitions near you which are generally of high quality.

The app’s also straightforward in its approach. Its main screen shows you what’s currently nearby. For London – where we tested the app – we were never far from a local or national gallery. From major exhibitions at the Tate Modern to the leftfield installations at the Whitechapel Gallery to the very specific galleries at the Freud Museum, whether we were looking for something paid or free, we had plenty of options.

Tap an exhibition to find out more

This main screen also tells you how far away you were, providing easy access to maps. By tapping through on any of them you’re also given a neatly presented and simple rundown of information, from price, to blurb, to address.

The app also includes an ‘explore’ section where you can see what else is on or coming up a little further away, making it easy to plan future trips if the galleries aren’t in the immediate vicinity. This approach doesn’t mean you have to fiddle with your search radius – instead, simply pick between “near you” and “not near you.”

All details are provided in a simple way – including how to get there

This passive approach to viewing options means you’re always likely to find something weird and new – thumbnails taking the job of sparking your interest.

Another section of the app is the “store”. This is an odd one and we’d be interested to see how it develops, but essentially, each time you visit a gallery you can tap the Yamo icon to check in. This gives you 10 Yamos – a virtual currency that can be spent in the store on real items – the conceptual opposite of those freemium games where you’re paying real money for virtual items. These rewards range from 80 Yamos for a branded tote bag to 700+ for a design print to hang on your walls.

Don’t forget to tap the Yamo icon to check in and earn Yamos

Other things like classes for oil painting and other art-related activities have found their way into the store so this could become quite the marketplace once the app has been around for a while. You’ll need to visit a lot of exhibitions to earn the good rewards, but it’s a system we can get behind.

Check in to enough galleries and you can buy something from the store with your Yamos

We have to say, we’re very impressed with Yamo. Your mileage may vary outside of big cities, but its simple design and straightforward approach make it easy for absolutely anybody to stumble upon something equally celebrated or weird.