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News announcement4 June 2020

Search Europe’s cultural gems from your sofa

The JRC’s ‘Cultural Gems’ app now includes activities that can be enjoyed at home - from online opera to virtual art galleries.

The JRC’s ‘Cultural Gems’ app now includes activities that can be enjoyed at home - from online opera to virtual art galleries.
Museums, theatres, local cultural organisations, libraries, and many more are working to keep culture alive online during this difficult time.
© EU, 2020

The JRC’s Cultural gems web app now includes ‘EU culture from home’: a hub of cultural initiatives from across Europe, from online opera performances to virtual art galleries.

Almost all of us are unable to travel right now and many cultural venues are still closed. But that doesn’t mean that we have to miss out on all the rich culture that Europe has to offer.

Museums, theatres, local cultural organisations, libraries, and many more are working to keep culture alive online during this difficult time. The Cultural gems platform collects and organises these initiatives on interactive city maps.

Through the web app you can explore initiatives by city and by type. Would you like to listen to a rock concert or watch a play? Do you prefer opera or jazz? Or do you want to visit a museum or art collection in another European country?

All these online initiatives and more are searchable by city and category. Right now there are over 230 online initiatives from 56 cities in 23 EU countries. Categories include: online collections, virtual visits, lectures, concerts, opera, performances, social campaigns, books, and films.

These numbers are growing each week: Cultural gems is a collaborative map where anyone can share online initiatives and help enrich the catalogue. The idea is to cover all 195 cities currently mapped in Cultural gems by the end of summer.

The initial collection of initiatives was made thanks to the support of the JRC’s European Media Monitor (EMM).

Background

Cultural gems maps cultural and creative places in European cities and towns. A wide selection of online initiatives and events are now accessible on this platform. Travel restrictions and social distancing are limiting our possibility to visit places and to taste cultural fragrances of European cities and towns in person.

The European Commission, to complement and support EU countries’ actions, has taken a set of measures to tackle the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on the cultural and creative sectors.

One such action is the launch of Creatives Unite, an online platform by the sector, for the sector. It provides a forum for cultural and creative sectors to share ideas and initiatives and co-create solutions, thanks to their creativity in response to the crisis. ‘EU culture from home’ is one of the initiatives included on the platform

Creative Europe – the EU programme supporting the cultural and creative sectors, has also launched #CreativeEuropeAtHome – a social media campaign highlighting the many cultural online offers funded by the programme.

Details on other measures being taken to respond to the coronavirus outbreak in support of the cultural and creative sectors can be found on the Commission’s website.

Related Content

Cultural Gems application

Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor

Have your say on the effects of COVID-19

Details

Publication date
4 June 2020