The Arts Experiences We All Need Right Now

Welcome to your comprehensive guide to fascinating arts experiences online

We’ve collated content from galleries, artists, festivals, musicians and venues so you can still enjoy the arts  while you might be social distancing. 

We’ll keep adding content to this article as more online arts experiences pop up. 

Got a suggestion? Feel free to DM us on our social platforms with a link to any organisations or artists who are doing their thing in the digital space and we may add it to the list. 

Happy browsing!

EXPLORE

Prototype Care Package – Home Delivered Art!

Sign up to receive art delivered straight to your inbox. Weekly, direct to subscribers’ devices, Prototype Care Package delivers new, remixed, re-edited and under-seen works that have recently fallen off the gallery and festival circuits – ranging from short experimental film, moving image art, video art and the uncategorisable.

Each new work is screened online until it is replaced by the next, and the whole season will be collected and archived on Prototype’s website when the project wraps. We LOVE IT!

Sydney Opera House Digital Season

Thank you Sydney Opera House! Enjoy a weekly program of unmissable full-length performances, live recordings and never-before-seen footage from the Opera House archives. 

The Social Distancing Festival

Discover this online artist’s community made to celebrate and showcase the work of the many artists around the world who have been affected by the need for social distancing. Check out the streaming calendar and submit your work! 

Melbourne Digital Concert Hall

Support the arts with this amazing initiative – a digital concert hall run by musicians, for musicians. Concerts will be performed once, at set times, as per traditional recitals, and will be professionally streamed. Tickets are sold online for the performance and all ticket money goes directly to the artists.

A Virtual Tour of Collecting Comme with National Gallery of Victoria

Explore the innovative designs and ongoing influence of contemporary fashion label Comme des Garçons without leaving your couch! Showcasing more than 65 outfits by the visionary designer, drawn from more than 40 collections this is a stunning tour so sit back and enjoy!

Crowdcast with Amanda Palmer

If you missed her at Perth Festival this summer join the one and only Amanda Palmer for an online experience of her intimate concerts and work. 

Arts Centre Melbourne - Together with You

While their curtains are closed Arts Centre Melbourne will be sharing a series of entertaining content from their archives including full length performances, artist interviews, family activities, podcasts, curated playlists and more. 

Isol–Aid Music Festival

What started as a one weekend thing has now become so popular it's happening every weekend! Isol-Aid Music Festival calls Australian musicians to play you a 20 min set from their home to yours. Donations are encourages via @supportact Check Isol-Aid's insta for the line-ups. 

Live stream all the music!

Explore this huge list of all the music being live streamed around the world. 

MoMA Virtual View

Find exclusive access to Donald Judd’s revolutionary sculptures, Dorothea Lange’s impactful photographs, intimate home movies, and more. Every weekend, MoMA will take you inside an exhibition or a favourite artwork from the collection through video stories and curator Q&As, as well as audio playlists and feature articles.

The Berliner Philharmonica’s Digital Concert

From live concerts in some of the most amazing places in the world to documentaries and interviews, travel with Berliner Philharmonic’s Digital series - available on apps or online. Watch the trailer here. 

Art Basel Online Viewing Rooms

Yes please! Keep an eye out for Art Basel as they launch online viewing rooms on 20 Mar for some of the most exciting art galleries. Each gallery has chosen a curatorial concept for their virtual room as individual as a fingerprint, with the added bonus of being unconstrained by the dimensions of a traditional white cube.

12 Museums You Can Visit Around the World – From Your Couch

Travel across the world and get some culture while you're in your pj's (we know you are!). From New York to Amsterdam to São Paulo – go on virtual tours through some of the most famous museums in the world. 

WATCH

WA Opera's Ghost Light Opera

Ghost Light Opera will celebrate Western Australian singers performing gorgeous arias spot lit on a darkened stage enabling the experience of beautiful music to transcend from the stage of His Majesty’s Theatre and into your home wherever you are. Tune in every Saturday at 7.30pm starting 28 March 2020 on WAO’s social media platforms. Follow the company’s pages to stay up to date!

Watch Inside by Dimitris Papaioannou

The perfect binge watch? We think so! For anyone who was obsessed by Dimitris Papaioannou's The Great Tamer from our 2019 Festival or for those of you who just love aesthetically pleasing movements and settings, Inside is a 6 hour durational piece with no beginning or end. Treat it as a lullaby, meditation, for company or contemplation. 

How to See with MoMA

A compelling series of videos from MoMA curators and visiting artists as they explore the galleries to explain how they see the art of our time. See the full Youtube playlist here.

Australian Ballet Digital Season

Their new At Home with Ballet TV digital season will stream premium-quality productions right to your couch for free. They’ve picked a selection of our most beloved and inspiring ballets, and each will have a limited two-week season on our streaming platform, Ballet TV. We’re kicking off our Digital Season with the luminous extravaganza that is David McAllister’s production of The Sleeping Beauty.

#TogetherAtHome Music Series

Global Citizen and the World Health Organization (WHO) have launched a virtual concert series to promote unity amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s social distancing protocols. Together, At Home features live performances from various musical artists on Insta. Check out the first of the performances from Chris Martin and John Legend!

National Theatre at Home

Now you can see world-class theatre, at home, for FREE! London's National Theatre are bringing you the best in theatre online. Head to their Youtube channel where a new production will be available to stream every Thursday at 7pm UK time for a week. 

Arts Centre Melbourne Streaming Performances Online

The show will go on! Arts Centre Melbourne have plans to stream most of their performances online – keep an eye out on their channels for details. First up is Morning Melodies: Exposing Edith which will be broadcasted from Hamer Hall this coming Monday 23 March at 11am AEST.

Keith Haring, The NGV Waterfall and Art in the Public Space

The NGV has some amazing videos that are accessible to all! Check out this one with NGV curator, Meg Slater, and a number of contemporary Indigenous Australian artists as they discuss the legacy of Keith Haring’s work.

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Livestream All Concerts!

Throughout the ban on public events, the MSO will continue to perform for you! Check out their live stream performance from 16 Mar on Youtube. 

Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard Plays Daily Live Concerts

Take us back to the early 2000's please! Hang out with the lead singer as he plays daily concerts from his home for fans via Facebook. Special guests will be digitally dropping by...

Isolate Live

Musicians and performers live streaming from their home, they accept donations and can choose to donate a percentage of their choice to a charity. If you would like to watch a show, visit their Facebook page.

Doomsday Disco

Live Lovin from twitch, but also maybe everywhere, Sydney performer Johnny Golightly will be hosting a house party from home - you stay where you are and he'll take you there. Let’s keep the distance social. 

Vulture's Guide to the Best Operas to Stream (While They're Free!)

Ever thought you'd be into opera if it was more accessible? Well now's the time! Opera and classical music companies have been preparing for this day and have rich online content so enjoy the high production quality of these online experiences. 

ARTFORUM Video Content

Explore their deep bank of interviews with artists and curators and even video art!

Live Dance, Opera and Theatre on Marquee TV

Hit up their 30 day free trial and binge hard on all the theatre, opera and dance productions that rarely make it to Perth. We highly recommend the critically acclaimed dance/ theatre work, Betroffenheit that we brought to Perth in 2017 – you're welcome. 

LISTEN

Hear Beethoven's Fidelio with West Australian Symphony Orchestra

From West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Opera Australia, Fidelio is Beethoven’s only opera and we were lucky enough to see it come to life at our 2020 Festival. Have a listen to this amazing piece of work via ABC.

Chasing Philip Glass

Hear from Phelim Mcdermot as he is in search of the perfect question for Manchester International Festival’s podcast series. Phelim explores his dreams, and speaks to those who know him best, going to the very core of where ideas come from while he’s working on Tao of Glass. 

Art Guide Australia's Podcast Series

Interesting episodes with a huge array of incredible artists. Listen here. 

READ

Gurrumul’s Unique Collaborations

Were you lucky enough to see Bunggul at the 2020 Festival or Gurrumul at Lotterywest Films in 2018 and want more? We’ve collated Dr G Yunupingu’s most unique collaborations with other artists for you to enjoy.

Prince and the Revolution: John Prince Siddon Exhibition Feature

Delve into this feature by Barnaby Smith about Indigenous contemporary artist John Prince Siddon’s exhibition, All Mixed Up, at Fremantle Arts Centre.

A Biologist, An Engineer and an Artist Walk Into a Bar...

Art meets science in the ambitious installation, Bricolage. This thought-provoking exhibition invited us to consider the human body in a world beyond its control. Read the exhibition observations of Paul Boyé, a member of our inaugural Visual Arts Writing Group. 

Semaphore – A Weekly Newsletter About Art in WA

Find interesting commentary and creative responses to art from Western Australia. Semaphore is made up of arts writers who are interested in writing that reflects upon artistic practice, broader cultural themes and also examines what writing can be, and what it can offer visual art.

INTERACT

Download KAWS Companion (Expanded)

In light of the NGV's exhibition, KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness, downloaded the app created by Acute Art and artist KAWS to explore a whole new way of discovering, experiencing, and collecting art. Download the app now to experience KAWS’ art in AR, with a floating 45cm COMPANION (EXPANDED) that’s free of charge until 15th April, 2020.

Moog and Korg Synth Apps

Moog Music Inc and Korg have made a few synth apps free for a limited time. Have fun exercising your mind by making some music!

MTC Virtual Tour 

Walk the halls of Melbourne Theatre Compnay HQ in this virtual tour and explore the spaces where plays are rehearsed, sets are built, costumes are sewn, and wigs are created one strand of hair at a time. 

Download Free Artist Packs Created by Some of UK's Most Famous Artists!

Art is where the home is was created by UK's Firstsite and features artist created activity packs, with contributions from UK artists including Antony Gormley, Gillian Wearing, Idris Khan, Jeremy Deller, Mark Wallinger and more. These packs will give you ideas about how to get creative at home. Anyone can have a go – there are no specialist materials required, plus it’s completely FREE to download!

INTERACT

The Long Kiss Goodbye Virtual Tour

This evocative exhibition explores how artists transform familiar materials and symbols into complex meditations on love, loss, attraction and repulsion. Featuring a group of artists from around the nation, each with a unique connection to Western Australia explore the virtual tour plus other interesting content from the exhibition online!

Fremantle Arts Centre Virtual Tour 

Get up close to two of our exhibitions from 2020 and explore John Prince Siddon’s kaleidoscopic paintings, surreal sculptures and animal furs and see for yourself why this exhibition was the critic’s pick of the Festival. You can also enjoy an impressive selection of works on paper by Gooniyandi artist Butcher Cherel Janangoo (1920-2009), courtesy of Mangkaja Arts Resource Agency.

Take One of MoMA's Free Online Courses

Want to work your mind and out of films to watch already? The Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) is offering a series of online art courses, free of charge. Whether you are an art lover, a fan of beautiful things or you just get bored a lot, they seem an ideal way of killing some of the coming hours and days of self-isolation – not to mention equipping yourself with a raft of new artistic understanding for when you ever get to visit a gallery again. 

BANNER IMAGE: INSIDE (2011) / full six-hour work by Dimitris Papaioannou. One shot. Unedited.