Indeed, the collaboration between artists and engineers has been mutually beneficial with artists accessing cutting-edge technologies and engineers taking advantage of innovative ideas. While Bell Labs invited artists to participate in their projects in an effort to access their creative ideas and feel connected to a hip culture, all of this was secondary to the company's true purpose of seeking and developing new advanced technologies for the parent company, Bell Telephone. The residency and commission programs of Google, Spotify and others are likely to seek similar exchanges with artists today, albeit softened by corporate image and public relations benefits.

Today, some companies will invite artists to experiment with augmented reality (AR) in order to boost their image or highlight their flagship products. In 2019, Apple collaborated with the New Museum to create a series of AR works presented to the public. The tech giant worked with several artists to help choreograph the [AR]T Walk – a guided walking tour of six AR art pieces starting at selected Apple Stores around the world – while also advising on the development of the [AR]T initiative overall. Each store provided specific devices to the registered attendees to experience the art pieces tied to various locations. Most of the participating artists were working in AR for the first time.

In contrast, other companies will provide artists with applications and tools to let their creativity run wild. Artists with more knowledge in AR have their preferred tools when creating a new art pieces. So, they can be interested in providing their learnings and insights about the tool with the product team. For instance, Adobe launched a residency program in 2018 to support artists in their creativity process and exploration of questions related to AR. In that program, artists access intuitive tools and resources, and receive guidance from advisors. They are encouraged to experiment various artistic concepts related to AR using Adobe Aero, and pursue their own creative projects. At the end of the residency, they can share their immersive artworks with the public through exhibitions hosted at Adobe’s headquarters among others venues.

Some creative startups have also developed their own platforms to allow artists to use AR technology and host digital art exhibitions. For example, Aery provides an AR platform based on a GPS-like technology to users who could adjust the position of their device using a set of instructions to view artworks. Artivive is another app that enables the creation of AR artworks on their platform, which allow the artist to upload images and videos, and modify them. With their app, a real artwork could be enhanced by a digital layer to create a unique experience, connecting classic and digital art. As for Acute Art, their platform brings together international artists and AR technology to produce and exhibit their artworks, which are accessible through on-site activations in their app.

Although those platforms are accessible to artists regardless of their AR knowledge, other apps such as Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat provide more user-friendly tools. Instagram filters and Snapchat lenses are widely used to share photos and connect with friends. While filters are applied to static images, the lenses add an interactive AR layer that reacts to facial expressions, gestures, and movements. Instagram Spark AR and Snapchat Lens Studio are both applications that digital artists can use to create and share their own filters. With an increasing popularity, the creators providing filters to their community have gone from being AR experts to digital artists. Some of them don’t label themselves as traditional artists since they have different background including game art design, graphic design, illustration, and animation. What used to be a niche medium is now more accessible to newcomers.

It becomes clear that artists interested in producing AR work would take advantage of all platforms available to express their creativity. All platforms and tools highlighted above are helping digital artists and talented engineers to push the boundaries of this new medium. Their effort would be rewarded with a growing interest from curators and collectors in an emerging market for digital artworks. Technological changes will also open up new possibilities for AR art. In a sense, augmented reality is an invitation to interact with others about what they are seeing. From wearable contact lenses to mixed reality functionality, the next step in the world of augmented reality looks promising.