Museums around the world are again closing their physical doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though many institutions are #closedbutopen and further provide us with engaging programs in the digital realm. We compiled 11 virtual museum experiences to join in the upcoming weeks. The selection includes a variety of education formats in English from international institutions.
ACMI
The Australian Centre for the Moving Image provides in the series Behind the Screens exclusive insights into the career pathways and projects of screen professionals. A new episode premiers each Monday, with opportunities to ask questions of our presenters via Youtube live chat.
Design Museum London
The Design Museum’s calendar is full with digital formats for all age groups. A special offer is the online Course Creative Entrepreneurs‘ Start Up Essentials: Marketing Basics on November 17 & 24 and December 1. The three-part course uncovers the marketing basics needed to turn creative ideas into successful businesses.

Harvard Art Museums
The Harvard Art Museums realize numerous online events in the context of their initiative Harvard Art Museums from Home. Upcoming events include Virtual Gallery Tour for Friends and Fellows of the Museums on Wednesday, November 18 and the Student Guide Tour: Art in Exile, with Vlad Batagui on November 21. For an overview see the calendar.
National Gallery Singapore
The Gallery offers with Slow Art an interactive education format via Zoom. Inspired by the principles of slow looking and mindfulness, the program focuses on one artwork every session. Participants are taken through a guided observation and a facilitated group discussion to introduce basic visual literacy. The upcoming event are on November 26 and December 10.
MoMA
MoMA offers a wide range of digital workshops and programs, see calendar. One format is Slow Looking: Connecting to Self and Place. On November 19 the upcoming session will take place. Tip: MoMA also offers very engaging MOOCs on art history and museum education. Check out our blogpost on this topic Museum Education and MOOCs.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
All public programs of the Guggenheim in NYC are currently offered online via the initiative Guggenheim at Large. The manifold conversations, performances and family-friendly programs are presented in the museum’s calendar. In the format At-Home Art Class with the Guggenheim the institution implements 45-minute live online sessions from November 10 to 25.
Städel Museum
The Städel Museum realizes a wide spectrum of digital formats that online visitors can use independently of a visit to the physical museum. The podcast FINDING VAN GOGH – in search of the legendary Portrait of Dr Gachet is available in English and German.
Another interesting digital offer of the Städel Museum is Art History Online – The Städel Course on Modern Art. In the MOOC users learn about art history and visual studies as they proceed through five modules. Based on roughly 250 selected works from the collection of the museum, the course provides multifaceted insights into modern art, from 1750 to the present.
The Glucksman
Online Masterclasses with artists are among the numerous online activities of the museum. Curatorial Conversations wants to map the radical potential of curatorial thought through a series of online talks and discussions. The upcoming event on November 19 will be with the dependent curator and architect Paula Nascimento.
The National Museum of Computing
The calendar of the museum comprises various online events for different target audiences. On November 29 a Virtual Talk on the Polish Cryptomachine LACIDA will be implemented: the speaker will demonstrate software simulations followed by a Q&A session.
Triennale Milano
The Triennale is offering several online events with curators, artists, designers and editors. They are streamed every Tuesday live on the Instagram.
ZKM
The ZKM offers a lot of digital programs, some of them in English: e.g. the Guided Tour on the digital platform of Critical Zones on Friday December 4. The participants meet the exhibition’s art educators and curators in a zoom chat and talk to them about terms like Gaia, terrestrial, holobiont and many more.
Links
- ACMI, Melbourne / AU
- Design Museum, London / GB
- Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge / US
- National Gallery Singapore / SG
- MoMA, NYC / US
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NYC / US
- Städel Museum, Amsterdam / NL
- The Glucksman, Cork / IR
- The National Museum of Computing, Bletchley Park / GB
- Triennale Milano, Milan / IT
- ZKM, Karlsruhe / GE