Tag: music

Athens – All the city’s a stage

Athens is using culture to boost the city’s recovery after corona. Already at the beginning of the lockdown, the municipality invited artists through an open call to suggest events for the special situation under the pandemic. More than 600 proposals from all cultural sectors – arts, music, theatre, performances, dancing, cinema, literature – were made and are forming a comprehensive programme now, including Culture@Home with live streamings, writers’ videos (“Stay Home with the Authors”) and live events under the corona restrictions. The city coordinates the activities and provides free support for streaming and publicity, and even the Athens City Hall was opened for smaller cultural events. You can find the full programme here

Contact: Dimitris Konstantopoulos

A Special Europe Day – Cities sing together in solidarity

“Our Europe stands for togetherness and solidarity across borders, also and especially in times of global crisis” – that’s the message of European city leaders for Europe Day on 9 May 2020. In a joint video message, mayors of 14 European cities call for solidarity and emphasise the role of cities which are working together and helping each other.

To celebrate Europe Day, the cities, all members of the network EUROCITIES, sing together the European anthem, ‘Ode to Joy’ from Ludwig van Beethoven and Friedrich Schiller. Singers from each city join from home, due to the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic, and form a European choir.

The cities participating are: Bologna, Bonn, Braga, Budapest, Edinburgh, Espoo, Florence, Ghent, Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Leuven, Nicosia, Pau, Pesaro, Stuttgart, Tampere, Valladolid, Vienna

Dusseldorf – Doors closed, eyes and ears wide open

While Dusseldorf’s cultural institutions remain closed due to the corona pandemic, a wide range of free digital offers are available online: virtual museum tours, recordings of concerts and opera performances as well as hands-on activities and tutorials for children and young people. An overview of these programmes, updated regularly, can be found on the website of Dusseldorf‘s Cultural Department

Contact: Stefanie Nietfeld

London – Emergency fund for music and arts

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has launched a new fund of emergency £2.3m (€2.6 million) to support culture and creative industries at risk due to the impact of the coronavirus. The money goes to grassroots music venues, LGBTQ+ venues, artist workspaces and independent cinemas. “Culture, creative industries and night time economy are so important to the fabric of our city”, said Sadiq Khan, “and they will play a key role in helping us to recover from this public health crisis.” You can read more here

Contact: Ian Catlow

Cardiff – For its youth

Cardiff has developed a website to support children and young people with emotional and mental health and wellbeing issues in this difficult and challenging time. The city also launched ‘The ‘Diff Diaries’, a platform giving youngsters and children the opportunity to document their activity, thoughts and feelings during the global pandemic by submitting video recordings, photo collages or written diary entries. Music education has also gone digital as Cardiff delivers music tuition, one to one lessons and rehearsals opportunities online. Read more here, here and here

Contact: Beverley Watson

Zagreb – Ask librarians

Members of the Zagreb City Library can read more than 600 e-book titles on different devices, and they can access a list of free e-books. They can also get help in searching for content thanks to the Ask Librarians service. The Library also collected on their YouTube channel interesting online events like forums and workshops, and is giving access to an online collection not only showcasing books, but also materials like photos and music scores. Read more here (in Croatian)

Contact: international.relations@zagreb.hr

Nice – Dance and music

Nice is supporting its Conservatory in giving effective lessons. The dance department offers courses in fitness, ballet history and anatomy, the creation of a chamber ballet, and the exchange of videos of international ballets. The Music department has created a youtube channel for students on the alert. It also offers video exchanges, daily tutorials and skype lessons. Finally, the Theater department has set up a discussion forum. It also offers remote debates on shows, or even video exchanges. Read more (in French) in the attached press release.

Nice-conservatoireDownload

Contact: Jérôme Sieurin

Nice – Culture online

Nice is keeping culture open online. Through it’s platform oncultivate-you.nice.fr, the city has launched twenty online programmes including films, concerts, ballets, visits to heritage places, exhibition, and conferences! There is even a free moment when artists and musicians have a carte blanch to perform as they want. Read more (in French) here.

Contact: Jérôme Sieurin

Bologna – Culture doesn’t stop

Following the spontaneous balcony concerts of Italians, the city of Bologna makes live music available even with concert halls closed under the corona measures. The city’s web portal Bologna Agenda Cultura offers videos from musicians who played behind closed doors and gives free access to a wide range of online events.

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