Experiencing art online. The Tate initiatives.

Many of us are still on holiday at the moment, on our own or with our children at home. We can’t travel far, and physical visits to museums and galleries are off the books in many places, so why not take up what the Tate museums in the UK are offering? From getting creative with online activities, visiting artists in their studios, going behind the scenes of the galleries, or exploring exhibitions through film and music, Tate is offering a wide range of resources, games and videos to provide entertainment and to help keep people feeling inspired at home over the festive period.
For example, we can go behind the scenes at Tate in a new film exploring how the Collection Care and Curatorial teams have been working together to find new ways of looking after art in these exceptional times. We can follow art handlers, conservators, archivists and registrars as they discuss the challenges of transporting, installing and preparing artworks during the coronavirus pandemic.
In response to Zanele Muholi at Tate Modern, members of the QTIPOC community (Queer, Trans, and Intersex People Of Colour) reflect on their experience of ‘home’ and ‘love’ in the poignant, From a Place of Love, produced in partnership by Tate Exchange and UK Black Pride. Hear directly from Muholi in a short film discussing their work and inspiration, or discover the music that inspires Lynette Yiadom-Boakye in this playlist curated by the artist to accompany her exhibition at Tate Britain. There are in-depth exhibition guides for all shows to read online including Bruce Nauman at Tate Modern and Turner’s Modern World at Tate Britain, and Haegue Yang: Strange Attractors at Tate St Ives.
A vast range of artist interviews is available to view on Tate’s YouTube channel, including a new film with Aliza Nisenbaum introducing the NHS key workers who were the subjects for her recently opened exhibition at Tate Liverpool. For those looking forward to Tate’s 2021 exhibitions, a variety of films offer insights into the artists featured in their upcoming programme.
On tate.org.uk you can also find a retrospective on the Late at Tate Britain *Online and Uniqlo Tate Lates: Night In in-person events that took place in early December. 
Of course, the programme organised by Tate also has something for youngsters. Tate Kids offers a range of free art activities, quizzes, films and educational resources that the whole family can enjoy. Through the dedicated website tate.org.uk/kids, children can learn about art in fun and inventive ways. The activities offer opportunities for young people of all ages to get creative using materials found at home. Recent videos include learning how to use your body to make art with Harold Offeh and a workshop showing viewers how to draw a friend with Joey Yu. Children can create and upload their own digital artworks with Tate Paint and play online games and quizzes inspired by artists in the Tate collection, such as ‘Which Arty Fairy Are You?’. 
Believe us when we say that these initiatives will entertain kids and adults alike!

Christiane Bürklein

Tate’s online initiatives
https://www.tate.org.uk/
Images: see captions