Remember when Pokemon Go made people walk around their neighborhoods looking at their phones, hunting for virtual creatures? KeepThisArt has created something similar — except the treasures are real.

Walk Mode: Your Art Radar

KeepThisArt's Map has a feature called Walk Mode. Tap the "Walk" button at the bottom dock, and the map zooms to show artworks within 2.5 miles of your current location. Each artwork appears as a pin on the map — tap it to see the painting, sculpture, or collectible, its price, and who is selling it.

It is, quite literally, Pokemon Go for art collectors.

The Art Fair Scenario

Imagine you are at an art fair with 200 booths. You have three hours before you need to catch a train. Without Walk Mode, you wander randomly, hoping to stumble upon something worth buying. With Walk Mode:

  1. Open the map. See every listed artwork at the fair as a pin.
  2. Spot the clusters. The pins that show the most activity tell you where the action is.
  3. Plan your route. Instead of zig-zagging through the fair, you can plot a path through the artworks that interest you.
  4. Check prices before you walk over. See the listed price on the pin detail, so you know whether a piece is in your budget before you cross the venue.
  5. Move fast on popular pieces. When an artwork is getting attention from multiple users, you know to get there before it is traded.

Collectors who have used Walk Mode at fairs describe it as feeling like a competitive advantage. While others are browsing randomly, you are making strategic moves based on real data.

Five Scenarios Where Walk Mode Shines

1. Art Fairs and Exhibitions

The most obvious use case. At India Art Fair, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, or any regional art mela, Walk Mode turns the overwhelming experience of a large fair into a structured hunt. You know where to go and what to expect when you get there.

2. Gallery District Walks

Every major Indian city has gallery clusters — Kala Ghoda in Mumbai, Lodhi Art District in Delhi, Jeweller's Street in Jaipur. Walk Mode shows you what is available across all the galleries in the district, plus private listings from collectors nearby.

3. Traveling to a New City

You are visiting Kolkata for work. You have a free evening. Open Walk Mode around your hotel to see what art is available nearby. You might find a private collector listing a Jamini Roy study, or a gallery with Bengal School watercolors you have been looking for.

4. Your Own Neighborhood

Many collectors are surprised to discover art listed within walking distance of their home. Someone in your building or on your street might be listing a piece you would love. Walk Mode reveals the art ecosystem in your immediate surroundings.

5. Art Markets and Antique Bazaars

At places like Chor Bazaar in Mumbai or Sunday market in Delhi, Walk Mode helps you find specific types of pieces among the chaos. Collectors list their booth locations, and you can navigate directly to them.

Explore Mode: The Wider View

Walk Mode is about what is near you right now. For a broader perspective, switch to "Explore" mode in the bottom dock. This expands the radius and fits all artworks in the area into your view. Explore mode is ideal for:

  • Planning which area of a city to visit
  • Comparing art availability across neighborhoods
  • Understanding the density of the local art market

You can toggle between Walk and Explore instantly — no reloading, no waiting.

The 3D Toggle

The map also has a 3D mode that renders buildings and terrain. In a dense urban area, this helps you understand the physical context of where artworks are located. Is that pin on the third floor of a building? Is that gallery across the river or across the street? 3D mode answers these spatial questions.

How KeepThisArt Keeps It Safe

All trades on KeepThisArt are escrow-protected. When you find an artwork through Walk Mode and want to buy it, the payment goes into escrow. The seller ships or hands over the artwork, you inspect it, and only then is the payment released. If something goes wrong, the escrow protects your money.

For in-person trades at fairs, KeepThisArt supports offline completion with transfer codes — the seller generates a code, you enter it when you receive the artwork, and the trade is recorded on the platform even though the exchange happened face to face.

The Bigger Picture

Walk Mode is part of a broader trend toward geographic art discovery. Instead of searching by keyword or browsing curated lists, you discover art by exploring a map — the same intuitive way you discover restaurants, shops, or parks. For a market as geographically distributed as Indian art, this approach unlocks collections and pieces that no traditional gallery or auction system can surface.

Try it: keepthisart.com/map