Don’t Miss: BBC Culture in Quarantine

The BBC's Culture in Quarantine is delivering a new program of art and culture to Brits at home

In challenging times, art and culture have the power to unite, inspire reflection, and offer solace. Since museums, theaters, cinemas and other cultural venues across Britain closed their doors in March as a result of the national lockdown, the BBC has been collaborating with organizations and individuals–from the Tate Modern and the Royal Shakespeare to writer Margaret Atwood and scholar Mary Beard–to deliver an eclectic mix of art and culture to the public at home.

The BBC’s Culture in Quarantine Festival grants access to shuttered exhibitions and performances, festivals which have turned virtual, as well as new work, offering a rich program available to consume via the BBC: online, on television, or over the radio.

"It’s important during this period that we maintain access not just to news and information, but to the arts and culture. For many people, they are a valuable part of their lives and a way of stimulating imagination, thought, and escapism. It’s a vital part of who we are as individuals and part of our identity as a nation,” said Director-General Tony Hall.

Here, we pick some of the highlights from the program that are sure to not only entertain but inspire.

Titian – Behind Closed Doors

Two days before the opening of its spring/summer exhibition, “Titian: Love, Desire, Death”, the National Gallery was forced to close its doors to the public until further notice. For the first time in four centuries, six paintings by Titian that were commissioned in 1551 by Prince Philip of Spain, the future King Philip II, had been reunited. Depicting mythological scenes taken from the Roman poet Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’, the paintings capture moments of high drama; a fatal encounter, the shameful discovery, a hasty abduction. The BBC takes us inside the shuttered exhibition in a one-hour special that includes commentary from experts.

#shortitout

As part of Culture in Quarantine, Encounters Film Festival and Watershed have teamed up with the BFI and other partners to offer up a program of filmmaking content and launch a short film competition, #shortitout. #shortitout invites filmmakers to shoot a short, lasting 90 seconds or less, exploring whatever genre you like. It is free to enter, and your work could end up being showcased at the upcoming edition of Encounters Film Festival.

Royal Shakespeare Company

The BBC’s theatre line-up includes six performances from the Royal Shakespeare Company, including Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, and The Merchant of Venice, with exciting performances from the likes of Christopher Eccleston and Hugh Quarshie. The education team at the RSC is also creating a program of activities to help children who are currently studying the plays as part of their school curriculum. There will even be actors available to provide homework help through the Shakespeare Learning Zone.

Front Row Late

Front Row Late is a regular arts program showcasing the latest in contemporary art and culture, presented by classicist and scholar Mary Beard. Usually shot in studios in London and Glasgow, the program is currently airing from Beard’s home. Alongside discussions with writers and critics, the current series offers exclusive performances created in confinement around the world, including a puppet show based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story “The Masque of the Red Death”, choreographed by acclaimed author Margaret Atwood and her sister Ruth in Canada. There will also be poetry readings from actors Emma Thompson and Emilia Clarke, and much more!

Andy Warhol Exhibition

The Tate invites viewers to take a tour of their major retrospective of the work of Andy Warhol, which includes works that have never been seen before in the UK and 25 works from his “Ladies and Gentlemen” series–portraits of black and Latinx drag queens and trans women–that is being shown for the first time in 30 years. As part of the BBC’s Culture in Quarantine festival, go on a tour of the museum’s 12 rooms with curators Gregor Muir and Fiontán Moran, as they discuss Warhol through the lens of the immigrant story, his LGBTQI identity and concerns with death and religion.

The Swan by ballet artist Céline Gittens

This solo performance by Birmingham Royal Ballet Principal Céline Gittens is an adaptation of the end of The Swan. It has been re-choreographed by Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, Carlos Acosta, for the company's "Home From Home" series and is introduced as “a dance about life, about hope”. The performance features live music from pianist Jonathan Higgins and cellist António Novais, while Gittens takes center stage in her living room in isolation.

You can check out the full program here.

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