1Occupy White Walls
Thousands of art galleries around the world are closed over this period. While it may be easier to open them up with social distancing requirements over other cultural venues once some restrictions are lifted, there remains a lot of art locked away and unable to be appreciated at this time. But what if you didn’t need to visit your favourite museum at this time, but instead could visit one digitally. Now what if you could do that, but also build your own virtual exhibitions and visit the creations of others? This is what Occupy White Walls sets out to do, and accomplishes in one of the most successful mergers of culture and gamification I have seen to date.
In development by the team at StikiPixels and available completely free-of-charge via Steam, Occupy White Walls gives you complete freedom in building a gallery using over 2,000 assets and thousands of historical (public domain) and modern artworks, with the art curation AI DAISY (somewhat successfully) helping you pick out artwork which suits your taste or style of your museum. There is also an educational element to this game, with many art pieces having details of their history and the motives/themes mind it.
Whether you are interested in the game for its educational aspect or just arguably one of the more fun (and free) virtual world building experiences this year which combines simplicity with a lot of creative potential – Occupy White Walls is one game I can highly recommend.
2Les Misérables – The Staged Concert
Les Miserables is one of those musicals which, despite the heavy subject matter, really has an appeal with covers all tastes in musical theatre. Whether you like the more upbeat and snarky tunes from Monsieur and Madame Thénardier or the emotion that sweeps you when “Do You Hear the People Sing” or “One Day More” is performed – even musical theatre cynics can be turned in a couple of hours.
There is no shortage of recorded works you can enjoy around Les Miserables. You can watch one of the recorded concerts officially available on DVD or the 2012 feature film on DVD or Blu-ray. However, if you have a few dollars to support charity and reside in the United Kingdom or Australia – you can grab yourself a digital download copy of Les Miserables: The Staged Concert for £9.99.
This is a 2019 recording of the production starring the likes of Michael Ball, Matt Lucas, Carrie Hope Fletcher and Alfie Boe. £5.00 from the first 80,000 downloads will be donated by The Mackintosh Foundation to three charities: Acting for Others, the Musicians’ Union Coronavirus Hardship Fund and Captain Tom Moore’s Walk for the NHS fund; in addition to Cameron Mackintosh making a donation of £100,000 from his Foundation.
3Arts Centre Melbourne’s Big Night In
Last week, Arts Centre Melbourne announced their ‘Big Night In’ initiative, teaming up with John Foreman’s Aussie Pops Orchestra to produce a weekly live digital show to commence every Wednesday at 7pm from this week. To be streamed via the official Arts Centre Melbourne website, they aim to provide their audiences with “uplifting, inspiring, fun and familiar entertainment that reconnects artists with audiences”. We have seen several companies take the weekly livestream route to connect with their audiences over this period, and having another opportunity to get cultural enrichment from these performers is very much welcome.
Each week, John Foreman (musical director, pianist and composer) will catch up with different stars in the entertainment industry from their homes – ta’king about their career highlights, showbiz stories and belting out a few numbers. The first episode will feature Casey Donovan and Josh Piterman, the latter dialing in from London’s West End where he is performing in the UK cast of The Phantom of the Opera. It is sure to be a fun night at home, listening to these two talk and perform.
For more than 35 years Arts Centre Melbourne has provided stages for some of our most loved performers. When we closed our venues we were faced with the question of ‘how do we continue to bring audiences together, to bring artists together and to provide them with a stage from which they can perform?
When the opportunity came up to work with John Foreman and his Aussie Pops Orchestra we jumped at the chance to bring an Arts Centre Melbourne experience straight into people’s lounge rooms.
We think this show will be an extraordinary experience that we hope will bring a little bit of joy to people during this strange time. It is also a great opportunity to support our performers and musicians and share their talents with as many people as possible.
Claire Spencer AM – Chief Executive OFficer at Arts Centre Melbourne
I’m thrilled that Arts Centre Melbourne is creating a fantastic, new, virtual platform for artists. Obviously it’s not the same as performing in the magnificent Hamer Hall or the stunning State Theatre – and our Aussie Pops Orchestra are all phoning in their parts from their homes – but the joy of performing to an audience is undiminished, and our combined commitment to bringing audiences the very best music, from many genres, is as strong as ever.
John Foreman OAM – Musical Director, Pianist and Composer
4Sydney Opera House’s From Our House to Yours
Not even one of Australia’s most iconic landmarks has been able to escape being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the usually bustling venue much quieter than usual. However, even if their doors are closed for shows, tours and tourists; you can still get your performing arts fix from them through their ‘From Our House to Yours’ initiative.
Over the coming weeks, Sydney Opera House is offering a diverse collection of digital offerings via their official website. From Wednesday to Sunday each week, the venue will be uploading a range of content from archival footage, live broadcasts, premieres, talks with creatives, blog posts, podcasts and much more. The sheer amount of content already available is astounding, complemented by an easily accessible layout.
In particular, I would recommend checking out their numerous Podcast Series, which I have been tuning into for a while and find thought-provoking!
5Sydney Theatre Company Virtual
