Local Museums Use Web 2.0 to Spark Arty Conversations
Visiting art museums, once a mostly passive and individual experience, has become much more interactive lately, thanks to the advent of social media. At places like the Phillips Collection and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Twitter, Facebook, iTunes and YouTube are making it possible for museum-goers to engage in conversation with one another and learn more about artists and their work. Check below for the more interesting feeds to follow and informative podcasts to download so you can get a little closer to the great works of art D.C.’s museums have to offer.
The Phillips Collection has a Twitter feed (@PhillipsMuseum) which streams live in the Man Ray exhibition. They also have a Facebook page, and use both to solicit reactions from museum-goers about art. The Phillips also offers podcasts featuring excerpts of their Sunday concerts.
The Phillips also teamed up with the American Poetry Museum to develop a series of YouTube videos that examine African-American heritage. Poetic Voices 2.0 asks poets to respond to poet Countee Cullen’s 1925 poem Heritage. Visit the Philips' YouTube channel.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The American Art Museum has a cleverly named Twitter feed, “Ask Joan of Art,” which you can use to write in with art-related questions. People have already written in to ask about the meaning behind William H. Johnson's painting "Going to Church" and what tools were used to sculpt the Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Memorial.
The Museum also offers podcasts on iTunes, a blog and other forms of multimedia.
Other blogs and feeds:
• The National Museum of Women in the Arts has a blog, and Facebook and Twitter pages.
• The Smithsonian African Art Museum has a blog about the installation of the Yinka Shonibare MBE exhibit.
• The Corcoran Gallery of Art has a Vimeo channel, which includes interviews and introductions to shows.
• The National Portrait Gallery has a museum blog and a podcast series. You can also check out artwork via a Flickr page, keep up with news via a Twitter feed, and visit the Facebook page.
• The National Gallery of Art has podcasts and videocasts. You can also check out the Facebook page.
• The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has podcasts, a Twitter feed and Facebook page.