The past few weeks have seen art museums, theater performances, concerts and more canceled across the United States and also across the world, due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19.
While it may seem like a difficult time to enjoy the arts, many museums and concert halls — though they are closed to the public — are finding ways to open their doors to visitors through virtual tours and livestreamed performances.
There are still many ways to explore the arts without having to leave home. So as you practice social distancing, here are some art exhibits you can explore and concerts you can enjoy from the comfort of your sofa.
Art museums and exhibits
Many museums and their exhibits are available to explore online. Google has partnered with over 1,500 museums and institutions to make their collections available online as well as to make virtual tours possible using Google Street View technology.
You can find a full list of available museums and sites at Google’s Arts & Culture page, but here are a few of the museums that you can explore virtually:
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Apart from the many exhibits and collections, you can also explore the architecture of the museum with the Met 360 Project at the museum’s website.
- Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery — View the popular First Ladies exhibit and more online.
- Tate Britain — A collection of four galleries in the UK that includes the Tate Modern museum in London, which holds art from Picasso, Warhol and other modern artists.
- Musee D’Orsay — This museum in Paris is home to a large collection of impressionist and post-impressionist pieces, including art by Monet, Cezanne, Renoir and more.
- Uffizi Gallery — this museum in Florence houses works by Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Botticelli and more.
- Van Gogh Museum — This museum holds the largest collection of artworks by Vincent Van Gogh in the world.
- Bonus: The Louvre is not partnered with Google for this project, but it offers its own virtual tours of the Egyptian Antiquities collection and the ruins of the medieval fortress that is located beneath the Louvre.
Other museums and historical sites
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Explore the collections of plant and animal life, including the impressive dinosaur fossils.
- The British Museum — With over two million years of history represented in the museum, the vast collection includes the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies and more.
- The White House — Take a virtual tour of the White House, as well as the art that is on display there.
- Palace of Versailles — The former home of Marie Antoinette, you can use explore the famous Hall of Mirrors and the impressive gardens.
- Doge’s Palace — A Venice landmark that was originally built in the 14th century and home to stunning art and architecture, including the Bridge of Sighs.
- Anne Frank House — Learn more about the life of Anne Frank by exploring her family’s home and museum in Amsterdam.
Concerts and performances
Art exhibits are not the only things that are being moved online. There are a variety of concerts and performances from operas and symphonies around the world that are being made available online for free.
- The Metropolitan Opera — “Nightly Met Opera Streams” will begin March 16, with encore presentations of the “Live in HD” series available every evening throughout the time that the Opera remains closed. The performances can be streamed every night at 7:30 p.m. ET (5:30 MT) on the homepage of metopera.org or on the Met Opera on Demand app, according to a statement from Met Opera.
- Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) — Broadcast recordings of previous opera and ballet performances will be broadcast daily for free at staatsoperlive.com.
- Berlin Philharmonic — All of the concerts and films in the Berlin Philharmonic’s Digital Concert Hall are available for free for the next month.
- Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center — Free videos and livestreams of concerts are available from its website.
- The Detroit Symphony Orchestra — Previous concerts from past seasons have been made available for free on the symphony’s website.
- The Jacksonville Symphony — A livestream of the performance of “SHIFT: Kennedy Center Bound” will take place on March 20.
Pianist Igor Levit has been performing live “House Concerts” via his Twitter account nightly.