Restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic have hit museums and art galleries all over the world hard as visitors stay home. However, digital technology is offering a solution through virtual tours.
Google Arts & Culture has over 2,500 museums on its platform, including the Nairobi National Museum.
Featured on Google Arts are some of Kenya’s famous archaeological discoveries and collections, East African birds and mammals, and a selection of contemporary art.
Also on the platform is the region’s oldest mosque, the Great Mosque of Kilwa Kisiwani in Tanzania, which is also a Unesco world heritage site.
The Iziko South African National Gallery, which showcases the country’s African, Indian and Dutch heritages, is also online.
I saw its cultural textiles, traditional adornments, sculptures and contemporary paintings. I also read about ancient rock art in the semi-autonomous country of Somaliland.
This year was supposed to herald the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum, said to be the largest archaeological display in the world.
The opening has been postponed to 2021 because of the pandemic. But since early April, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has provided virtual tours of the various archaeological sites.
Panoramic photos bring to life the beautiful Tomb of Menna cut into rocks in Luxor of Upper Egypt. The Louvre Museum in Paris, France has three virtual tours of Egyptian artefacts.
Virtual tours may only offer a snapshot of a museum’s collection but it should whet your interest for a real visit.
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