American artist Jonathan Keats: ‘Shuttered by COVID-19, museums now have the chance to reinvent online exhibitions’

Musical live-streaming falls back on a tradition dating to the early 20th century, when concerts were broadcast on the radio, and subsequently TV.
Musical live-streaming falls back on a tradition dating to the early 20th century, when concerts were broadcast on the radio, and subsequently TV. Image: tpsdave Pixabay CC0

Concerts are being live-streamed from concert halls in Berlin, New York among other cities for an audience listening at home out of deference to the coronavirus pandemic.

The idea is to bring people together through a cultural experience even if it is a temporal experience. It is unsure if the practice will continue given that ensemble performances may soon be considered a public health risk, but it is an example of how cultural institutions need to adapt in trying times.

Other ways cultural institutes are serving people online are through virtual tours of museums, making their catalogues freely accessible. Symphony orchestras are now giving free access to their recording archives.

To find out more about other initiatives by cultural institutions to make their collections accessible online, log on to Forbes.

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