A touching portrait of the family of the artist Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625) by his close friend and collaborator Peter Paul Rubens

Thank you to the 10,000+ people who have tuned into our first series of Open Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ Hour! We have been overwhelmed by the uptake to these four events, and are happy to announce that we will be coming back for series two in June. Stay tuned for more!

Open Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ Hour was the Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµâ€™s first digital mini series – each hour made up of short talks from expert speakers, live performances and explorations of individual works. The events were open to everyone and celebrate the Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµâ€™s collection, research in art history, curation and conservation in creative new ways.

Through these sessions, and future episodes, Open Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ Hour aims to examine the impact of the current COVID-19 crisis on artistic practice, evaluate how artists and galleries are adapting to the digital world, and provide a platform for art historical research creative practice in lockdown.

Watch the recordings here:

We’ve recently compiled some research into engagement of the Open Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ Hour sessions that we would like to share:

  • Almost 2,600 people have attended the live sessions and over 8,000 people have watched the events on YouTube (as of 29 May 2020)
  • As well as the UK, people tuned in from the USA, Portugal, France, Chile, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Malta, Crete, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Norway, Canada and Argentina!

Open Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ Hour is the latest initiative as part of The Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµâ€™s work to increase access to its expertise and collections via digital channels, and is delivered by The Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµâ€™s Research Forum. Other highlights include virtual tours of The Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ Gallery before it closed, or of the recent temporary exhibition of prints– Impressions of Modern Life.

Those interested in art history at all levels can access free recordings of art history research events, online books, blogs and short courses.

 

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