ReachExtra
Andalusian Culture & Online Virutal Tours to Brighten Up Isolation
The Junta de Andalucía’s Department of Culture and Historical Heritage have taken their activities online, stating that its mission is to make sure that “culture is not postponed” due to the coronavirus pandemic.
During these difficult times of social isolation caused by the coronavirus crisis, the Department of Culture and Historical Heritage of the Junta de Andalucía is bringing Andalusian culture closer to home by making its cultural ensembles, enclaves and spaces virtually available to anyone, which “have not ceased activity so that culture does not get postponed”.
Online exhibitions, virtual tours, video storytelling, views of Andalusian landscapes and even a monograph packed with local knowledge and trivia are some of their most exciting resources.
During the last week of March, the Junta announced the opening of the ‘eBiblio’ system, to all citizens of Andalusia who hold a Public Library Network of Andalucía (RBPA) card… free of charge! As per a statement released by the Junta, the RBPA catalogue currently contains “over 7,100 books, 530 audiobooks (MP3) and 25 electronic magazines from which to choose.”
“Wonders of Andalusia”
The ‘Department of Culture and Historical Heritage’ and the ‘Google Arts & Culture’ project are offering over 2,300 works of art through virtual collections from museums including those of Granada, Huelva or Jaén, as well as virtual tours of archaeological sites such as Baelo Claudia (in Tarifa, Cádiz), Medina Azahara (Córdoba), the Dolmens of Antequera (Málaga), Itálica (Seville) or the monumental complex that is the Alcazaba de Almería, among others.
See their website in English here!
They can also be seen with all kinds of details, files, maps, stocks and document held within the Andalusian archives.
Virtual Tours of Monuments, Mini-Concerts and Narrated Poetry
Another exciting initiative on offer are virtual guided tours of the rich Andalusian heritage through social media. The Archaeological Site at Itálica (Seville) is providing online excursions, which offer 360° virtual video tours on their Facebook page.
For its part, the Monumental Complex of the Alhambra and the Generalife (Granada) bring Nasrid monuments to all audiences in a pleasant way through #TrivialAlhambra. In addition, using the hashtag #OCGEnCasa, the musicians of the Granada City Orchestra (OCG) are offering ‘mini concerts’; due to the Spanish lockdown measures, its members are rehearsing from home.
The Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage (IAPH) have also made their Repository of Digital Assets and the Digital Guide to Cultural Heritage available to citizens. Here you can browse through photographs, documents or views of unique landscapes. Likewise, part of the collection from the Andalusian Musical Documentation Centre (CDMA) are accessible through their website, where you can read copies of the ‘Música oral del sur’ (Oral Music of the South) magazine to the CDMA instruments catalogue, including virtual exhibitions about the beginnings of phonography or a selection of pieces played on of clay instruments.
For its part, the Andalusian Center for Literature (CAL) maintains different initiatives such as PoetiCAL, Andalusian poetry narrated by Andalusian authors in audio format, or the Showcase Virtual Literary where different authors read excerpts of their works from the depths of their libraries. They also have online literary works available on their website.
Andalusian Culture & Online Virutal Tours to Brighten Up Isolation
