A Corona Quarantine Quick Fix
Like millions of people around the world, you might find yourself in self-imposed or mandatory quarantine, locked down in your house trying to reduce the risk of spread of the coronavirus. Social distancing and being stuck at home does not have to be boring and can provide a unique opportunity to do things you would normally not have time to do. I would like to suggest a few ways of how you could make the best use of this quarantine.
Although we do hear a lot about virtual museums, very often we do not have the time to visit many of them. Being stuck at home provides the perfect excuse to travel around the world’s best museum and discover them virtually. The following are 5 online museums or collections that I would highly recommend visiting whilst being stuck at home. They are also great fun activities for the whole family.
1. British Museum Virtual Tour
The “Museum of The World” virtual tour found here allows visitors to virtually explore hundreds of artifacts from the archives of the British Museum. Each of these artifacts is accompanied by didactic information, an audio recording with an explanation and a link to google maps showing their place of origin. On the other hand, if you would just like to go for a virtual walk around the museum, one can use the indoor and outdoor virtual tours available in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture.
2. Pergamon Museum
If you’d like tho walk through Berlin’s largest and one of the most important European museums — the Pergamon without ever leaving your home you can now. Using Google Maps visitors can now enjoy an undisturbed visit and take as much time as they want to explore the Ishtar Gate or the grave of Assurnasirpal.
3. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
The Van Gogh Museum is dedicated to the works of the brilliant and ingenious artist. It contains over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and over 750 personal letters. Through this virtual tour, you can enter the museum and explore the fantastic works of art by Van Gogh. Apart from walking through the museum, you can even click on some of the most famous paintings and learn all about them.
4. 324,622 works of art from the Paris Musées
The public institution Paris Musées brings together 14 City of Paris Museums. The collection’s website offers a huge collection of digitized images available to the public. Works by works Rembrandt, Monet, Picasso, Cézanne, and thousands of others can be found in this unique collection. This is an absolute treasure trove. Artworks are organized by theme, virtual exhibitions and can be searched and filtered in a wide variety of ways including artist, material and technique and even colour!
5. Mnajdra Temples, Malta
It’s not a virtual museum or art gallery but a living work of art! On Friday 20th March, the public can experience a unique phenomenon that takes place at the prehistoric Mnajdra Temples when the first rays of the sun project themselves through the South Temple’s main doorway to mark the Spring Equinox. Although the site is closed to the public because of the coronavirus, Heritage Malta has made it possible for everyone around the world to experience the event live on FB! To do this, follow the live stream can be viewed live on Heritage Malta’s Facebook Page, where it will remain available for public consumption, next Friday, 20th March at 6.15am
…… and if you really have a lot of time on your hands (see below)!
One video I would like to share with you is Apple’s newest ad which was created by creating its own one-take film at the Hermitage. This five-hour film directed by Axinya Gog, takes you through the museum’s public collections, featuring artists such as Rembrandt, Raphael, Caravaggio, Canova, and more, as well as live dance, performances, and music, culminating in a 30-minute musical finale from Russian pianist and composer Kirill Richter. Apple would like to let you know that this was all shot on an iPhone 11 Pro on one battery charge!
