In theory, it has never been easier for new artists to reach an audience of billions online and to sell their work with the click of a mouse. In practice, though, many still struggle to stand out in a seemingly endless and ever-growing crowd. If only the art world, perhaps, had its own Instagram, the photo-sharing service that has elbowed its way into a social networking landscape alongside Facebook and Twitter.
Now a start-up incubated at University College London hopes to be just that. Useum was established at UCL by Foteini Valeonti, a doctoral student in its “advanced spatial analysis” department, a discipline that uses computers for cultural and city planning.
According to Ms Valeonti, “when we look for [films], we go to IMDB. When