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Sahava Baranow, one of 果冻影院's Social and Wellbeing Volunteers, shares her digital culture recommendations.
My name is Sahava Baranow and I completed a BA in History and an MA in Museum Studies at 果冻影院. Right now I am working in the library sector as I prepare for my PhD in Japanese History next year. When I have a spare moment I like to read for pleasure, indulge in a yoga practice or bake 鈥� right now I am rediscovering the opulent pastries of my native Austria.
If you are anything like me, going to the museum, theatre or a concert used to be a well-established part of your life. For me, participating in the local cultural scene creates a feeling of connectedness while also allowing me to have new experiences and grow as an individual. In other words: seeing exhibitions, plays or operas has a noteworthy positive impact on my mental health.
Now that a majority of us are only able to leave our homes rarely and for our most pressing needs, this outlet has been removed from our routines. Nonetheless, many institutions have found ways to stay connected with their visitors even while their physical locations remain closed.
Performing arts
For theatre afficionados I can recommend , which is offering access to streams of past productions on their . Every Friday evening the National Theatre is livestreaming one of their archived shows, leaving the full-length play online for a week until the next show premiers digitally. is streaming past performances on a two week rotation alongside a programme of various other online resources, such as a digital tour and a podcast series.
The opera world, too, has caught on to the trend of digital stages with the 鈥檚 weekly stream of past productions on YouTube at the forefront. And the Spanish has made several full-length operas available online, as has the .
Fans of dance won鈥檛 be left behind either, as both and the have presented online programmes with full-length dance performances and ancillary content.
As one of the largest performing arts centres in Europe, the has put together a collection of things to read, watch or listen to if you find yourself in need of inspiration or distraction. And allows access to snippets and full-length performances from their archives through their .
For a broader learning experience, head to , which offers a wealth of free independent documentary films available for free online.
Museums
You may not know that your favourite museums have already had an online presence for years. YouTube especially hosts a number of museum channels, where you can watch anything from the Curator鈥檚 Corner to the Natural History Museum鈥檚 .
A special mention also goes to the bilingual Instagram page of the French . During the museum鈥檚 closure a new artists takes over their Instagram feed for one week to present their favourite objects in the museums collection. I particularly enjoyed Tracy Emin鈥檚 choices recently (11-17 May).
Podcasts
Finally, for those of you who enjoy listening to podcasts, I highly recommend Katy Hessel鈥檚 to rediscover so many of the female artists missing from our traditional art histories.
I hope that the above suggestions will inspire some of you to look out for more digital culture and that this might be an aid in staying connected with your loved ones and even strangers over music, drama, film and more.
As for the performance of attending cultural events itself, why not emulate that at home too? You might want to try dressing up at home and setting aside dedicated time for yourself to enjoy the things you have always enjoyed.
If you are interested in becoming a digital volunteer, please听explore our opportunities听辞谤听, outlining your key skills, interests and availability. We'll then get back to you to help find a suitable role.
