Aug 13

Aug 13 Enjoy Two Beloved New York Museums Virtually

We all agree that one of the most amazing things about NYC is its position as a global center for art and culture. Many have called the city the cultural capital of the world. Do you miss walking the hallowed halls of the Guggenheim and MoMA? I do.

Sometimes, even if you haven’t been to a place in years, just knowing it’s not possible to go there makes you want to go there all-the-more.

I have to confess that in the months leading up to quarantine, I wasn’t taking full advantage of our museums. Now, it’s one of the things I most miss. So, I’ve been looking into alternatives, and I’ve learned there are some outstanding online programs for our two most famous New York museums. Art is a great tool to lift my spirits and I thought it might be for yours, too! So, I put this together for your consideration:

Guggenheim

Virtual Guided Tour: The Guggenheim has a virtual guided tour on select Mondays and Wednesdays you can join. It’s led by an educator using Google Arts and Culture Street View to give you a complete 360 viewpoint. The tour covers the museum’s iconic architecture, construction and artwork as you move from ramp to ramp. Visitors follow via Zoom. The cost is $10, $5 for members. Virtual Guided Tour

At-Home Art Class with the Guggenheim: These online art sessions are offered every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and are designed especially for younger ages. Classes are broken down into three levels: grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8. Focusing on a new theme each week, children are led and inspired based on artwork from the Guggenheim’s collection. Each class is 45 minutes long via Zoom and kids are encouraged to continue their projects afterwards. Cost is $15, $10 for members. Art Home Art Class

Sketch with Jeff: Another kid-focused online offering is Sketch with Jeff. Guggenheim teaching artist Jeff Hopkins shares stories about the museum’s iconic Frank Lloyd Wright building. Each segment features Jeff sketching stories followed by a prompt to create drawings of your own home. New sessions are available online on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Sketch with Jeff

Guggenheim for All: This is a wonderful opportunity for families with children on the Autism Spectrum. The virtual program allows these families to explore artworks through conversation and movement and then make a work of art together. Guggenheim for All

MoMA

MoMA has my heart as the goddess of all New York’s museums. Not a month would go by, pre-COVID times, without MoMA and Mona (that’s me) spending some quality time together. I’ll be tuning in to the Virtual Views: Film Vault Summer Camp this August 13th at 8:00pm for a live Q&A with Rajendra Roy, MoMA’s Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film, and award-winning director, screenwriter, and producer Todd Haynes, as they discuss how filmmakers use restored and archival materials to inspire new work. I suggest you also check out Coursera Courses the free online courses offered by the MoMA through Coursera. Class titles are:

· Fashion as Design

· In the Studio: Postwar Abstract Painting

· What is Contemporary Art?

· Art & Ideas: Teaching with Themes

· Art & Inquiry: Museum Teaching Strategies for your Classroom

· Seeing Through Photographs

· Art & Activity: Interactive Strategies for Engaging with Art

· Modern Art & Ideas

Online Family Art Workshops - Storytelling through Art: These sessions are designed for kids ages 7-14.

The classes cover the idea that there are many ways to tell a story—through words, theater and dance, or through visual art. For example, how artist Jacob Lawrence shared the history of an important event by combining words and art in a series of paintings called the Migration Series. Kids are asked to come with a story that is important to them, and then learn how to tell the story through multiple panels in this drawing and writing workshop. Online Family Art Workshop

Online Lectures and Panels: Speakers and moderators discuss specific art pieces, analyzing and taking a deep dive into the meaning of powerful works of art. Panels include anthropologists, artists, professors and activists for a full discussion. Online Events

Evening In: This is a series for museum members designed to bring MoMA to the home. Participants join for a night in as part of a new monthly series offering opportunities to get creative, catch a performance, practice a new skill and more.

Playlists: MoMA playlists provide hours of art-inspired music. From artists’ musical inspirations to cinema soundtracks to the “alien” sounds of the avant-garde, MoMA playlists offer truly unique listening experiences. You can follow MoMA on Spotify.

Until the day we can all happily visit our beloved museums in good health, I’m looking forward to checking out some of these offerings.

Author: Mona Maine de Biran

Manhattan Minds is an inspired blog on New York City Art, Beauty, Fashion and Lifestyle. You are invited to share your comments on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, Reddit, StumbleUpon and LinkedIn and a link to this article using the easy icons below.