Digital art is coming to Sumter County’s five libraries.
The art will be displayed on screens through a company called Meural, which offers over 10,000 pictures that can be changed frequently.
Prompted by concerns about bare walls at the Belleview Library, head county librarian Leslie Smith said the library advisory board began examining the best way to bring art into the libraries.
The board settled on Meural as a method that avoids copyright and licensing issues, she said.
When library patrons get close to the screens, information about the artist and picture are displayed.
“It’s not just something pretty to go on the walls,” Smith said. “It also helps you with art literacy. It’s a way to educate you about art.”
She said the screens will be installed by the end of June.
Meural was founded in August 2014 by two first-generation immigrants who met as freshmen at New York University. The company spent its first year developing the right display, working on the ambient light sensor, incorporating gesture control and building the frames.
The company offers a variety of digital art from French impressionist painters to fashion photography and floral art. The art is displayed at Lowe’s, Target and Best Buy stores in the U.S. and Canada as well as overseas locations.
Sumter County commissioners endorsed the digital art concept.
Commissioner Doug Gilpin said the county’s library offerings have improved immensely over the last decade.
“This is a big step forward,” he said.
Board chairman Al Butler said the digital art adds to the library’s digital offerings that include music.
“It’s wonderful these days that technology is opening up these opportunities,” he said.