European museums at the time of the COVID-19
For more than a week now, virtually all art museums around the world have closed their doors to the public in order to fight the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus. However, many have seen the right time to remind people that museums extend beyond their doors that guard their artworks. Aware of the power that art has to connect, heal and generate the community, the great art institutions have committed to putting the saying 'look on the bright side' into practice, filling their websites with creative ideas, knowledge and entertainment for those of us who stay at home.
This is not out of pride, but a simple glance at the initiatives of the world's great museums is enough to realize how, once again, in Spain we do things well when it comes to communication and museums. The main museums offer us quality alternatives, in digital format; thus joining the other social proposals that help, almost from the first day, the confined homes.
There are many samples, but we will keep two of the most relevant ones.The Museo del Prado launched #PRADOCONTIGO, transforming its entire website to offer its alternative visitors an almost real tour; in addition to the games for the little ones (wonderful illustrations by Teresa Bellón <3)
The Museo del Prado launched #PRADOCONTIGO, transforming its entire website to offer its alternative visitors an almost real tour; in addition to the games for the little ones (wonderful illustrations by Teresa Bellón <3)
We strongly suggest that all of you study some of his free MOOCS, now that we have more free time, or take up the challenge of mentally ordering his works, thanks to the digital timeline. All this is undoubtedly a fruitful work, as the newspaper CincoDías points out:
“If last year their website had an average of 20,000 users per day -an important figure, considering that they closed the year with some 8,500 daily physical visitors-, during these days this figure has shot up to levels never before reached by the institution. Last Saturday, for example, the website registered 180,000 users, which is a multiple of what would have been a normal day a year ago. “
The Thyssen, for its part, also continues holding the fort and reminds us that, despite the coronavirus, we can still keep in touch with its art gallery. Ideas such as #Gigathyssen (masterpieces in very high resolution exclusively for your screen), a virtual visit or even the possibility of listening to music from the time of Rembrandt on Spotify, stand out as original alternatives to the traditional visit.
Outside Spain, museums have also been closed. In Italy, so unfortunately attacked by the epidemic, the Gallery of the Uffizi has published on its website the closure of its facilities. Although the urgency has prevented them from preparing anything ad hoc, they remind us that there is an interesting online section of part of their collection, as well as the initiative that under the title 'On being present', includes the representation of black culture in the museum's works.
In Vienna, the Kunsthistorisches Museum uses a very emotional hagstag: #CLOSEDBUTACTIVE. Under this claim, the museum dusts off previous initiatives like Bruegel's microsite or gives a little wink to its future exhibitions like 'Beethoven Moves'. With a touch of very Central European humor, the museum announces that the inauguration has been postponed until a date that is still unknown. To make it easier for fans of the composer and in anticipation of the exhibition, they have created a playlist inspired by the German composer and the postponed exhibition.
As for British museums, such as the emblematic British Museum, we are informed of the closure of its doors through its website in a clear message in red, referring to a brief statement and the possibility of a virtual visit through Google Arts & Culture.
Outside Europe, museums have begun to react as their governments announced the first measures. In the United States, the MET has already made public its closure and changed the claim of its website to 'Experience The Met, Anywhere'. Under #MetAnywhere, it includes several of its resources available to all those who have found themselves behind closed doors in recent weeks. The 360º visit, free catalogues of previous exhibitions and #MetKIDS are the main resources of the North American museum.
The crisis of COVID-19, shows once again the urgent need for museums to invest in digital resources in order to be present in society. Some of these resources show significant signs of ageing in their digital assets; perhaps this is the moment to stop and see and listen to what users are demanding at a time when they cannot access culture organically and thus prepare for the future that awaits us, hopefully, when this whole nightmare is over and when Art will be more necessary to us than ever.