While the world is staying safe at home, institutions and artists have been putting their free art online while their doors are also closed. Here we list some of our favorite resources for you and your family to enjoy at home together. Whether educational, entertaining, or motivational, art plays a significant role in our day to day lives. We hope you are staying safe, washing your hands, and can find some time to enjoy art online.
The Museum of the World is the product of a partnership between Google and The British Museum. It is an interactive global timeline of all the work in The British Museum from prehistory to the present, and from all over the world. The art is organized into themes: art and design, lifestyle and dying, power and identity, religion and belief, and trade and conflict. This resource is a fascinating way to explore history and art through shared themes all across the world.
Visit: https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/
9 Short Films About Celebrity, Place, and Family
The Museum of Modern Art in New York recently hosted an exhibition titled ‘Private Lives Public Spaces’ that featured film and photography. Part of the exhibition included archived footage of home movies that were digitized and displayed at the museum. In the spirit of staying home, they have digitally published 9 of these home movies. They are organized in three themes: celebrity, the experience of place, and family. This incredible short collection of films takes a look into private lives in a very public space, the internet. Don’t forget to catch Salvador Dali’s own home movie!
Visit: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/276
Jean Cocteau’s The Blood of a Poet
Today (April 10), TheCollector published a feature on Jean Cocteau, a Surrealist cinematographer, director, poet, illustrator, and art critic. One of his films, ‘The Blood of A Poet’ is available to watch online. It is the first part in his ‘Orphic’ Trilogy, which is succeeded by ‘Orpheus’ and ‘The Testament of Orpheus.’
Visit: https://vimeo.com/189672640
Artport: Digital Works Meant To Be Viewed On The Web
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Sign up to our Free Weekly NewsletterArtport is the Whitney Museum’s online database of digital and internet art, available to audiences online. As art evolves with the tools available to artists, there is a growing collection of digital art. Some of these works are best engaged with on a computer, and where better to do that than at home? The Whitney originally launched Artport in 2001, and have since both commissioned and collected digital work. The collection goes back to 1994 with Douglas Davis’ ‘The World’s First Collaborative Sentence.’
Visit: https://whitney.org/artport
Opera is one of the most fantastical forms of visual art. The Metropolitan Opera has been streaming a filmed performance, daily. Tune in every night with a glass of wine to the wonderful visions and voices of world class performers. Be sure to check out the schedule to see when your favorite opera will be aired.
For schedule information, visit: https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/
Over 500 Free Books About Art by The Met Museum
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a world-renowned art institution that also has an incredible publishing arm. The Met has made hundreds of their own publications free to read and available to the general public to enjoy while their museums are closed. Here are 10 picks to get you started. This collection includes a range of subjects that reflects the diversity of art and history throughout the museum. Topics include Ancient and Islamic art, Art and Love in the Renaissance, Korean art, and much, much more. Find something that piques your interest and get inspired while at home.
For the list of books, visit: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/titles-with-full-text-online?searchtype=F
Coloring Pages From The Louvre
For the artists at home who are in a creative block, get inspired with a set of coloring pages from the Louvre Museums. This fun and whimsical set features some of the most-loved works of art at the Louvre, including the Mona Lisa. These doodles capture some of the crazy daily scenes within the Louvre and the different characters who visit the museum. Whether for yourself or a young one, the images will become new works of art worthy of the Louvre itself.
Visit: https://www.louvre.fr/sites/default/files/medias/medias_fichiers/fichiers/pdf/louvre-coloriages-generation-pyramide-par-clo-e-floirat.pdf
Dimitris Papaioannou Online: Primal Matter And Other Works
Dimitris Papaioannou is a Greek choreographer, director, and performer who started his artistic career as a cartoonist and painter. His history as a black and white cartoonist and as a painter trained Papaioannou to create high-contrast visuals throughout his work. The artist has posted filmed performances such as Primal Matter (linked). Warning: There is nudity throughout the film.
Visit: https://vimeo.com/190056876
Rendez-vous With French Cinema
Even though film festivals around the world are postponed or cancelled, their films are still available to watch online. Festival Scope will be screening films from the Rendez-vous with French Cinema festival starting April 10. A limited number of screenings are available, though, so be sure to check them out soon! This festival includes a version of Joan of Arc, directed by Bruno Dumont, who turned the film into a mood piece with striking views of rolling landscapes and towering cathedrals.
Visit: https://www.festivalscope.com/all/festival/rendez-vous-with-french-cinema/2020
