Tinder, the dating app that's as much a way to meet people as it is to receive pictures of strangers’ penises, can be a bit much. Whether it’s having an incredibly awkward conversation with someone who desperately wants their groin tickled or engaging with one of those catfish accounts, the world of swiping left and right can get pretty gross.
But one company is looking to turn the “swipe left or right” game on its head. Wydr, a new Swiss-based app, swaps out the pictures of shirtless dudes and duck lips with compelling works of art. On its website, Wydr says that it aims to change how the traditional art market works “by changing the way users interact with art and offering them a Tinder-like way to tap into the art.”
Artists can upload images of their art to the app, and when users swipe right on a work, it's saved in their “virtual gallery.” Users can then go into their gallery and purchase any of the pieces that they liked—or just upload a screenshot of them to Instagram.
More than 400 artists are signed up for the app, and the number of active users is “in the five digits,” according to TechCrunch. While most of the art on the app isn't anything you'll be seeing in the Guggenheim anytime soon, Wydr could become a great way for art aficionados to be exposed to new artists, and for artists to find patrons outside of their local gallery scenes.
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