The Tom Thomson Art Gallery is proud to announce, in partnership with Augmented Marketing, the release of the Betwixt & Between: An Untold Tom Thomson Story App. Available for both Apple and Android, the App utilizes augmented reality not only bring to life our Gallery experience and unlock the catalogue, but also, uses cutting edge GPS technology to take players out of the Gallery and into the story of Tom Thomson and The First Nation People of the Saugeen Peninsula. The launch marks another important landmark – this is the FIRST EVER interactive augmented reality app for a Gallery in all of Canada which contains 3 modes.

The app functions as a "window" into another world full of 3D images, videos and information relating to the history of First Nations people, the Great War and of course, Tom Thomson.

Leading users on an interactive treasure hunt, our story is set in four distinct zones: Toronto, Algonquin Park, Owen Sound and Neyaashiinigmiing (Cape Croker). Within each zone, The TOM teamed up with a local organisation. In Algonquin Park, we are pleased to be partnering with the Portage Store and Taylor Statten Camps. Within Toronto, Tom and George's journey leads us to the Gladstone Hotel. The Cape Croker Indian Park in Neyaashiinigmiing (Cape Croker) marks the area where George Nadjiwon grew up. Finally, within Owen Sound, the Tom Thomson Art Gallery is the base where visitors can not only play the game – they can see the artefacts in person and pick up a copy of the catalogue in our gift shop.

Within the game, there are prize tokens to be won. These tokens are redeemable for replicas of our actual museum artefacts to be won by first user to solve each zone. Once a user solves all four zones the location of the final treasure becomes visible, a replica of the silver and gold hand-crafted bracelet at the heart of our story. The first user to solve the game not only discovers the secret behind our story but also wins the bracelet.

After five years of planning, the Tom Thomson Art Gallery and co-creators Joel Richardson and Germinio Pio Politi will unveil Betwixt and Between: An Untold Tom Thomson Story. With its claim to be "85% Authentic," Betwixt and Between reveals a story of friendship, love, and loss, linked to the life and art of Tom Thomson, and the often overlooked history of the First Nations peoples of the Bruce Peninsula. See the video here!

source: media release, Tom Thomson Art Gallery