Post-Truth and Beauty is an interactive sculpture that invites visitors to contemplate the ... [+]
With art galleries and museums around the world closing because of Covid-19, artists, galleries and museums have turned to technology and social media to keep their doors open virtually so visitors from anywhere in the world can still interact with and view art.
From large international museums to galleries and arts organizations, the arts community is getting creative with how they share their collections with the world.
London - the arts organization
Guy Armitage, Founder, Zealous said his arts organization has seen opportunities dry up for artists.
“With so much changing so quickly, artists and arts organizations are all in the process of finding their footing. Of course, there are worries about how the creative sector will subsist,” said Armitage. “Organizations have already taken difficult decisions, and many creative freelancers are asking hard questions about cash-flow.”
Armitage says that at the same time they see a rallying cry across the sector on how they can best serve their communities at this time.
With society in isolation – the arts are needed now more than ever to remind people they are not alone, that we can still dream, escape our current realities and engage our imaginations in building a better world for tomorrow.
But there is a positive side to the changes the arts community is making.
“In very little time we have experienced the birth of online experiences such as sofa choirs, #museumfromhome and the many announcements of exhibitions making their online debuts,” adds Armitage.
Armitage says that many arts organizations are coming to Zealous and looking for ways to engage in a meaningful way with those in isolation through online competitions. He believes this gives people at home a sense of purpose and something to look forward to.
“Imagine getting your work seen by your favorite artist,” said Armitage.
Armitage believes that organizations that do this, do more than just engage their community, they keep the dialog open with their audiences and funders, and when their doors open again, people return quickly.
“History has demonstrated that times of great adversity can lead to periods of great creativity,” adds Armitage. “Today, we all stand united, shoulder-to-shoulder (two meters apart of course) ready to take on the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.”
The world’s museums
Large museums from the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam let you virtually tour their collections. The Acropolis Museum's virtual tour takes you through the Parthenon Gallery and the Archaic Acropolis Gallery from the comfort of your living room,
In an effort to inspire a sense of calm, the #MuseumMomentofZen is an international campaign encouraging museums to feature artworks creating a calming environment. There are more than 75 museums as of March 16, 2020, sharing their 'moments of zen.'
The Cleveland Museum of Art has virtual tours through its augmented reality (AR) ArtLens App. Through the museums' Collection Online, users can access info and metadata for more than 61,000 artworks, through social media, and with video content.
Part of the Cleveland Musem of Art's Open Access collection, The Apple Seller c. 1890 ... [+]
"During this time when our institution is temporarily closed, it's important that we give visitors the tools they need to digitally interact with our collection," said Jane Alexander, chief digital information officer at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Alexander says that platforms like their newly redesigned Collection Online, Open Access, award-winning ArtLens App and social media allow people to engage and re-engage with the collection.
“We plan to use our various platforms to introduce exciting new digital programming weekly to help enrich, entertain and inspire during this challenging time.
The CMA is an Open Access museum, which means the public can share, collaborate, remix, and reuse images for more than 30,000 artworks in the public domain from the museum's collection for both commercial and noncommercial purposes.
CMA's AR ArtLens App is free to download on IoS and Android and gives visitors the museum's collection anytime from anywhere in the world. Through the app, visitors can browse through a curated list of tours created by CMA with interpretive content related to the tour's theme, or even create their own and share them.
The app’s AR scanning feature was intended for use on-site, but can still be used from home. Users can select the scanning feature to open their camera and hold their device up to an image from a listing in the online collection and additional content about that work of art will is displayed.
On the social media side, each day the CMA features collection-based content on its social media platforms via Collection Online, the museum’s blog, CMA Thinker, and via its library’s digital archives.
“Our mission is to create transformative experiences through art, ‘for the benefit of all the people forever,’ and by offering ways for people to virtually connect, we can continue to do that,” said Alexander.
Finland - the small gallery
What do you do if your job is to attract traffic to your gallery when people are encouraged to stay at home?
According to Hanna Manninen, owner and curator of the Galleria MABD in Oulu, Finland, the only solution is to go online.
"You got to be online and use online in a creative way, said Manninen. “We closed our gallery on February 16, 2020, and took all our exhibitions online. We actively used online tools to promote and extend the reach of our exhibitions [..], but now they are our only channel."
Galleria MABD opened in 2018 and is one of two privately owned galleries in Oulu, the fifth-largest city in the country.
Roy Aurinko's Nostalgia exhibition (12.2.-1.3.2020) at Galleria MABD, Oulu, Finland. Paintings in ... [+]
Other galleries in Oulu also showcase local, regional and national artists, but Manninen says their gallery does things a little differently.
"We're more active online, we do regular events, and we like to try new things. We showcase local artists but also bring artists from different parts of Finland as well as abroad," said Manninen.
"It may sound like a small thing but the first thing we did for one of our current exhibitions was a slideshow for Instagram and Facebook with all the details of the paintings including price, which we normally don't post on social media,” said Manninen.
"Our goal is to [..] transform the physical aspects of the gallery into a virtual experience and ensure our current exhibitions are online and can be experienced just as they would be in the physical gallery," added Manninen.
Since the gallery closed, Manninen has made a catalog for the gallery's followers to enjoy the exhibition online. Their current jewelry exhibition will be told in Instagram stories featuring the jewelry makers, their inspiration, and techniques to give the viewer a 'behind-the-scenes' feel.
I don’t think galleries need to reinvent the wheel but we need to learn how our visitors use online now since they’re stuck at home. We want to make art available for them.
Manninen says she's taking one day at a time.
"We are proactive, not reactive, and testing different things and see what gets the best reaction," said Manninen. "There are lots of opportunities, ideas, and tools, but I think it is important to be patient, not rush or push things too much, too soon."
