Art Basel

Art Basel Hong Kong has been cancelled: it may be down, but it’s not out. The art fair unites 234 leading galleries from 31 countries and territories with over 2,000 works – virtually. From Mar 20 – 25, one of the biggest art fairs annually will be held online using Art Basel’s online viewing rooms. These were originally planned to supplement the physical art fair: now, they will be the sole platform for the international art scene to showcase exceptional works by celebrated artists ranging from paintings, sculpture, drawings, installations, photography as well as video and digital works. As for Art Basel in Basel, it’s slated for Jun 18 – 21. It has not been cancelled or postponed for now, though organisers are monitoring the situation.

Bookmark it here for easy access on Mar 20.

Image courtesy of Art Basel.

The British Museum

If history is more your thing, London’s British Museum now has an interactive experience “through time, continents and cultures.” Ancient artefacts are arranged in a tapestry across time and are categorized into themes (such as religion or trade) so you can hone in on what you’re most interested in. The exhibits can be viewed in high-definition, with accompanying text or audio narration, from the current era all the way to 2,000,000 BCE. The best part? No craning your neck to see past someone standing way too close to the exhibit.

Click here.

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Museum of Modern Art

Located in Midtown Manhattan, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is dedicated to contemporary and modern art. With a massive library of 300,000 books and a plethora of archived works in architecture, design, photography, film and other media, MoMA is venerated globally and attracts more than three million visitors annually. It is now home to Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, Claude Monet’s Water Lilies and many more influential creations. Though you won’t be able to visit for a screening of one of its 22,000 films in its archive, you can go on a virtual tour thanks to Google Street View.

Click here.

Photography courtesy of MoMA.

Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum

More commonly known as simply the Thyssen, the art museum is one of three galleries that are a part of Madrid’s Golden Triangle of Art. The collection isn’t exhaustive like some of the larger art galleries we’ve featured: instead, they’re a series of highlights that spans 800 years of European works from Renaissance, to Baroque, and post-Impressionist art. Now, the museum presents an exhibition on Rembrandt, widely considered to be the most influential Dutch painter ever. This virtual exhibition goes the extra mile as it comes complete with a Spotify playlist featuring music from the 17th century, selected by the curator of the exhibition.

For an aural and visual art experience, click here.  

Natural History Museum

Over 250 years, 4.6 billion years of history and over 80 million plants, fossils, rocks and minerals: The Natural History Museum in London is iconic and hugely important for scientific research spanning far beyond humanity’s history on the planet. This is worth a revisit long after travel restrictions have been lifted: standing in the Hintze Hall under the shadow of a massive 25 metre long blue whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling is an almost religious experience for natural history buffs. For now though, you’ll have to settle for seeing it virtually.

Click here.

Tate Modern

Located on the banks of the Thames, the Tate Modern in London houses one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary art in the world. Occupying the former Bankside Power Station, the museum’s tenth storey viewing platform has a commanding view of Westminster, Southbank and Canary Wharf. Though the virtual tour can’t really replicate the feeling of being on the open-air viewing platform of an almost six-decade old building, you do get the some free virtual tours.

Click here.

The Louvre

Home to the enigmatic Mona Lisa, the Parisian museum is often plagued with a never-ending crowd. For now, the iconic glass pyramid and surrounding palace are temporarily empty. It remains the world’s largest art museum with 38,000 objects spread over almost 73,000 square metres. Established in 1792, the museum now offers virtual tours: though for only three exhibits. You can visit the recently-restored Galerie d’Apollon, or explore the remains of the Louvre’s Moat. Alternatively, you can click here to virtually explore the museum.

Click here to access the virtual tours.

The Olympic Museum

Though the 2020 Summer Olympics’ future is tenuous thanks to the current COVID-19 outbreak, the spirit of Olympism lives on. That’s what the Olympic Museum is all about: celebrating what the Olympics Games (and its central element, sports) stand for, and how it has contributed to culture, design and technology. By telling the history of the Games and noted athletes, the museum hopes to keep the fire of Olympism burning evermore. More recently, it has run several sports photography exhibitions: the art of catching lightning in a bottle is a major part of how sports is shared around the world in today’s age.

Click here.

The Van Gogh Museum

Dedicated to the complete oeuvre of the Dutch post-impressionist painter, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam houses over 200 paintings by one of Western art’s most influential and famous figures. The museum also contains 500 drawings and 750 letters about Van Gogh. Though The Starry Night is in the Museum of Modern Art, the Van Gogh Museum features masterpieces like The Bedroom and his self-portrait as a painter.

You can explore the collection here, or view the museum (or some of Google’s online exhibits on Van Gogh) through Google Street View.

Originally published in The Peak.

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