Virtual Art Experiences You Can Enjoy From Home

As I sit at my new work from home set-up on my dining room table, I’ve been thinking about ways to stay active. I’m sure most of us have been doing the same during this time of social distancing—or more effectively being referred to as physical distancing—because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Keeping our minds and bodies active can help us feel productive during this new normal. While perusing my email—and scrolling by the many retailer emails about what “they” are doing—I noticed an email from Apartment Therapy that caught my attention. I can’t even remember what it was about but it led me down a rabbit hole to find this article: Google Lets You Visit the World’s Most Famous Museums From the Comfort of Your Couch.

Google...Gallery...View?

As per the article’s suggestion, I promptly downloaded the Google Arts & Culture App. After a bit of exploration with the interface, I was “inside” our very own Art Institute of Chicago. Similar to Google Street View, I was swiping my finger to move virtually around through the different gallery spaces. When oriented toward an artwork in the virtual experience, an icon appears and prompts you to tap--or click--for more information. This allows you to learn about the history of the artist and the artwork before you zoom back out and move along through the gallery. As the Apartment Therapy article states, “while nothing can replace the experience of going to a museum and observing art face-to-face, technology has given us an alternative way to get our cultural fix without leaving home.”

Storytime on Instagram

Google and the world’s most famous museums and galleries are not the only ones turning to technology to share art experiences. Many artists, galleries, organizations, and curators are going to Instagram and other social media outlets to optimize their reach during a time where social gathering is limited. Chicago gallery Western Exhibitions announced they will be sharing daily details featuring an artist’s work on their Instagram stories. Each day they will feature a different artist and yesterday’s focus was work from artist collaborators Miller & Shellabarger whose exhibition is currently on view at the gallery. Western Exhibitions shared artwork images, tombstone information, detail shots, installation views, and fun facts about the work. Other galleries like Document and Richard Gray have been utilizing a similar outreach on their Instagram stories.

“Zooming In” On Exhibition Openings

DePaul Art Museum also took a creative approach to celebrate their exhibition opening of “The World to Come: Art in the Age of the Anthropocene.” Staff, board members, art consultants, and collectors tested a virtual opening experience via a Zoom call to celebrate the show and the hard work that went into its production. The university museum plans to show more images and information soon on Instagram--and of course IRL. 

Carrie Secrist Gallery announced that they too are going to investigate virtual tours of their upcoming show The Devil’s Daughter is Getting Married by Diana Guerrero-Maciá. The exhibition will open virtually next week where they will be sharing the show on their website, social media, and Artsy. The gallery is hoping to live stream artist talks featuring current studio developments, as well as discussions on how artists, galleries and our community can work together during this time.

Whether it’s a museum or gallery exhibition you’ve been wanting to see, or perhaps you have students at home who need some cultural education, it’s great to see technology and art come together at a time where we are urged to stay put. As art consultants, we look forward to continuing to engage with our community with these virtual tools to stay informed of new work by artists we admire.

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