BBC Arts announces 'Culture in Quarantine' programmes

BBC Arts has revealed further programming for Culture in Quarantine, a virtual festival of the arts "rooted in the experience of a national lockdown." More will be announced throughout the upcoming weeks.

The virtual festival, coming at a time when the UK has ordered a strict lockdown to control the spread of Covid-19, aims to bring the nation together through unprecedented online access to the arts. Audiences will be able to access shuttered exhibitions and museums through the Museum in Quarantine series. The first bank holiday weekend in May will see a three-day virtual book festival curated by authors Kit de Waal and Molly Flatt, called the Big Book Weekend. Theatre performances will also be available across various platforms and Mary Beard will host the new series of Front Row Late from her study, including a guest appearance from Margaret Atwood.

A new Culture in Quarantine fund, part of a wider collaboration between BBC Arts and Arts Council England, will be launched to commission 25 new works by independent artists. The application will be available by the end of the week.

Tony Hall, BBC Director-General, says: "It’s important during this period that we maintain access not just to news and information, but to the arts and culture. For many people they are a valuable part of their lives and a way of stimulating imagination, thought, and escapism. It’s a vital part of who we are as individuals and part of our identity as a nation."

Find full details here.