Gesso - Audio Tours

Gesso Experiences

In-app purchases

About this app

Named after the primer layer artists use to prepare a canvas where stories are told, Gesso (pronounced: JEH-so) makes audio-first, geo-responsive digital guides that go under the surface of a city.

Gesso is an Audio AR platform, you can think of us as a next-gen audio guide to the world. We present hidden gems through exclusive original content, a curated selection of podcasts, and official audio guides through the storied cultural institutions and forgotten corners of the world’s most famous cities.

Special Features:

*Autoplay - Put on your headphones, enable autoplay, and let geotagged stories scattered throughout the city automatically play as you pass by historical statues, overlooked architecture, public art, and other neighborhood secrets. This feature is currently available for NYC.

*A Curated Touch - We’ve listened to hundreds of podcast episodes so you don’t have to. We make sure that the podcasts we recommend and the audio we produce are impactful, informative, and inspiring, allowing you to reward your curiosity and celebrate human creativity around the world.

Gesso In Action:

*Go For A Walk
Consider us your friend who can always show you the most interesting places to explore. Beginning with the streets of New York City and Brooklyn, we’re producing audio tours that uncover...
-Dive into the past, present, and future of Rockefeller Center
-Nature, mindfulness, and history in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park
-Hipsterism and the local businesses that defined one of Brooklyn's most fashionable neighborhoods, Williamsburg
-What the Brooklyn Bridge means to New Yorkers during its construction through to today
And more!

Every neighborhood has a story to tell. Our self-guided walking tours are also a great way to get outside and explore local neighborhoods.

*Visit A Museum
No need for communal devices or guessing what that painting means. Our exhibition audio guides are easy, accessible, and personal. Whether you’re visiting in person or exploring an exhibition remotely, you can access our digital audio guides at any time.

No robotic voices here, listen to the curators and artists themselves reflect on the paintings, photographs, and sculptures in front of you.

Hear stories from 50+ institutions including New Museum, International Center of Photography (ICP), Queens Museum, Oakland Museum of California, and Pollock-Krasner House.

*Discover Something New
Our audio content illuminates the nearby hidden history surrounding you.

With 500+ audio snippets and curated podcasts geotagged throughout New York City, you’ll have short-form and long-form options to hear about historic buildings, community activism, architecture, local legends, and more. Hear the stories of the city on-site or listen remotely!

You can also discover podcasts in 9 other cities including London, Paris, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C.

Ratings and reviews

I'm pretty familiar with Soho, as a local and a guide. But this fantastic app provided an insiders view of the neighborhood, peeling back layers of history to learn about waves of its residents. Will donate. BTW, the interactivity worked perfectly on my Google phone. The app did not work initially for my friend who has an iPhone. She's downloading it for the 3rd time because I've told her how great it is.

I downloaded this application to follow a tour of the Brooklyn Bridge. From a functionality / ease of use standpoint, the application is straight forward for initial use. The tour itself was effortless. Different GPS locations throughout the tour audio at exactly the right time. The content of the tour I did was curated well. I believe that there was information about the Brooklyn Bridge that caters to a wide variety of people. I look forward to more content in the future.

Expertly and thoroughly curated content. Beautifully edited; and incredibly well researched. I love how it brings NYC to life in ways that are both informative and incredibly fun! As New Yorkers, there truly is so much at our fingertips. Gesso makes it accessible, and allows our very backyard to feel like the living, breathing museum it truly is!

What's new

Bug fixes and improvements