People have begun to flock to technology as a means to pass time during the quarantine. For free entertainment, education, and activities, turning to the internet and social media can be a solution. By following artists on social media, online platforms can help people find unique opportunities to entertain their family while at home.
There are museums offering people interested in visual artists opportunities for virtual tours. The Art Institute of Chicago has always been a vast resource for the community. Now they are offering virtual tours. Without the hassle of travel, standing in line and paying admission, there is a free opportunity to explore the museum. The list of participating venues is increasing as demand and interest are rising.
A virtual tour is an interesting tool often used to showcase a room, building, or street and exist on platforms such as Google Maps. It is also offered to some students as tools for viewing college campuses and their facilities. In this instance, it is the entire museum.
By clicking and dragging around the screen, the viewer is able to explore the rooms filled with historic art. While this method undermines the physical nature of appreciating art, it offers a unique twist of accessibility to it. This experience allows for an individual to explore an art museum without other people. No one makes you feel rushed to read and consume the artwork because there are no disruptions or time constraints for this experience.
It is easy to get lost and spend an entire day amid the digital tour. A visual is provided showing the artwork in the very rooms of the institute. This allows visitors to experience a 360-degree camera that displays some of the nuances of architecture. Viewers can understand the size of the artwork in relation to the walls and light fixtures. You can experience the lineup of artwork by walking through halls and rooms of curated collections with just a click of the mouse. It also allows them immediate access to information and online resources to understand art conceptually rather than just viewing it.
People interested in this kind of experience can travel the world and experience full collections of priceless art in seconds. For instance, this application allows viewers to look at collections from New York, Italy, France, and Mexico. Offering artists access to historic and cultural inspiration is an enriching move on behalf of the artistic community. A tool that was well within the reach of institutions is now helping redefine remote learning. Hopefully moving forward this brings about an interest in the arts by offering new accessibility to underprivileged communities and new demographics.
Those interested in performing arts have the opportunity to watch fitness instructors and dance choreographers host live online sessions. Social distancing has also been remedied by dancing. By following pages relating to personal interests, it is easier to be informed and access some of these online activities.
Steezy Studio is offering one free dance class a day on its website.
Steezy Studio reminds people that things may be tough, “But that doesn’t mean we have to stop dancing!”. This is a great platform for dance tutorials with different genres of dance. They offer a variety of video classes with different instructors. The website also offers some interactive features helpful for the consumption of tutorials. The viewer can select sections of the full-length clip. The sections include learning, slow, medium, full-speed, watch with music, and practice with music. By clicking on the sections, the video skips to that segment easily. You can also easily adjust speed, mirror, and loop the video as needed.
The website offers the daily lineup in advance, informing who will be instructing the class and what type of routine will be covered. Viewers also know what genre of song they will be dancing to. To access all of the content and features, users can pay a monthly fee that is more cost-effective than being in the studio with the class and instructor. This is still a learning opportunity from world-class dance choreographers at the forefront of performing artists. Trendy routines keep people active and exercise is an immense benefit to mental health.
This trend has encouraged musical artists to continue producing, posting, live streaming performances, and releasing new music. Many new opportunities, updates, and releases are promoted on social media, making it important to follow different pages.
Reggaeton artist J Balvin released “Colores Experience” on March 19, 2020 on Spotify and other music streaming services. This Colombian artist has been helping redefine the presence of Latinx artists in the entertainment industry. Despite speaking both English and Spanish, he almost exclusively sings in Spanish using culture as a fundamental tool for his success.
This artist meditates about his personal use of color connotation in an album. This is accompanied by a visual of the artist meditating in a room that is lit to have the same color as the one in the discussion. Balvin explores the color as a conceptual means of creating an audio composition and titling it as appropriate color. Impressive use of collaboration from both audio and visual art brings energy and vibrancy to people from across the world.
No matter the area of interest, creatives still have an outlet for their mediums. Technology has been used to improve the lived experience. It is comforting to know that technology connects with communities in innovative ways. Free resources like these are important to have. The digital experiences and accommodations being extended by businesses should not be revoked at the conclusion of quarantine. Now that generations have been forced to interact with technology, it is important to embrace the opportunities they give.
They should remain free, as there is no equivalent to an in-person experience. Generating online followers is important as we have now all experienced. Offering experiences in the arts is beneficial to the creative community by providing inspiration for people that otherwise have limited exposure. Technology and art typically enhance life. During quarantine, art and technology make up the entire experience.
Consider the amount of accessibility we have now given to the physically impaired. Taking away this accommodation would be a disservice to the incorporation of a digital experience.
In order to always stay in the loop of information, we need global access. This demand needs instantaneous communication that can only be virtual. This becomes a call to action for younger people to assist other generations in the navigation of technology.
Explaining how to use the internet to people may seem like a difficult and tedious task, but the main tool to be used is the search bar. There are a number of websites out there and the easiest way to access them is by utilizing relevant words. By asking a question with the right words, you can offer a split second solution from experts in the field. Finding topics of interest is a sign of a good search.
It is also important to teach people what not to do on the internet. Looking for credible and safe websites will help keep families protected from scams. Sites ending with .gov and .edu are usually very credible. Sites ending with .com or .net are also okay to use, but it’s important to remind relatives that if a website or offer seems too good to be true, that it probably is. Be cautious when releasing private information or credit card numbers online.
Online opportunities are vast and cost effective. It is just a matter of picking the right activity for inspiration and the resources for it.