We have seen culture and creativity playing an even greater part in many peoples’ lives during the covid-19 pandemic. Artists and organisations have responded to the crisis with collective and community spirit; launching initiatives online and on social media, and through public participation. Here are just a few examples:
York Civic Trust created a gallery of Blue Badges to honour key workers.
York Museums Trust created the viral sensation, the #CuratorBattle on Twitter. They also invited people to explore their vast collections from home with their Museums from home online collections.
York Theatre Royal created Collective Acts, a programme of activities and digital events, to help their community stay connected. They also worked in collaboration with BBC Radio York to bring the York Mystery Plays to life on radio.
York Creatives’ Facebook page – York’s grassroots creative community. (including Mick Liversidge’s Outdoor Poem series)
REACH and IVE ran the Bags of Creativity programme, which supported vulnerable and disadvantaged young people’s learning in York.
York Dance Space have created a video for #REFRESH21 with some wonderful young people in lockdown (who created everything from the movement to the poetry).
Post-lockdown, the culture sector innovated, to create socially distanced events that people could enjoy safely in the city. Find out more:
York Theatre Royal’s Pop-Up on the Patio.
Park Bench Theatre’s Rowntrees Park performances.
National Centre for Early Music and Music Venue Alliance’s Songs Under the Skies.
Find out more about the incredible digital activities and virtual content created by the cultural and creative sector, to help people stay connected to the arts and heritage during the pandemic:
Jorvik Viking Centre’s Discover from Home series (including activities, downloads and videos)
Hoglets online storytelling adventures
Castle Howard’s video lecture series on the house
York Mysteries at Home – an ongoing project to help people make the York Mystery Plays in their own homes, including read-throughs, online films and crafting activities.
York Mansion House’s video series on the house
Dorian Deathly’s Haunted York Live(ish) Ghost Tour
The Bloody Tour of York with Mad Alice and York Gin’s Tour
York Minster’s Navigator Site on the Great East Window
York Army Museum’s Immersive Museum Tour
Explore York’s 5,000 eBooks and audiobooks to borrow
Explore York’s Ancestry Archives
National Centre for Early Music’s York Christmas at Home – Enjoy these very special Christmas Concerts, designed to be watched in the comfort of your own home.
York Ideas – a year-round series of events led by the University of York to educate, entertain and inspire, which culminates in York Festival of Ideas in June each year.
