Arts and culture: the basics
Thursday 1 January 2004
Everyone's view and experience of the arts is different and the web is a great way of finding an exhibition, an event or even arts group that suits you.
Theatre
Going to theatre can be an electrifying experience. You'll be seeing a live performance of a story that is made much more personal and powerful by seeing live actors communicating directly with you.
Some shows include multi-media elements such as TV screens, cinema projections, special effects and pyrotechnics. Others simply rely on the brilliance of their actors to tell the story.
Theatre performances details are usually shown in local newspapers, but now that most newspapers have their own web sites, show times and reviews are often shown on the web. If you know which theatre you're going to, it' a sure fire bet it has its own web site.
If you're looking to get involved in drama and tread the boards yourself, the web can help you out there too. Take a look at our list of links for further information.
Live performance
As well as music gigs, comedy shows and traditional drama, live performance can include:
- Poetry
- Storytelling
- Dance
- Mime
- Historical re-enactments
- Music, both orchestral and popular
- Circus
- Puppetry
- Cross art form festivals
Live poets can be anything from funny and wild to moving and engaging. Current poets, like John Hegley and Roger McGough, combine comedy and emotion with great effect.
Live storytelling has been around for thousands of years, but today storytelling is a whole new art form that can take you to new places in your imagination.
Mime and live dance performance can be a great spectacle that uses a completely different type of communication to tell a story: movement.
Human beings interpret everything they see and there' great fun to be had interpreting the meaning behind each show.
Museums
Museums are changing the way they work. You might be surprised the next time you go.
You'll find interactive technology, smart new cafes and schemes which let you get involved in creative activities.
You might even be able to get involved with developing a new exhibition with the help of a digital camera or volunteering as a guide to explain the museum to other young people. It' definitely worth giving them a try.
At London's Victoria & Albert Museum (also known as the V&A), you can design your own historical coat of arms, see how they put the exhibitions together and test yourself on what you've learnt with interactive touch-screen quizzes.
In the North of England, there's Bradford's National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, which is great fun.
There are loads of interactive features to play with, plus there's a huge IMAX North cinema screen. There you can see a 3D documentary about the Titanic, made by the director of Titanic and Terminator 2, James Cameron.
Art Galleries
What is art? Well, why not try to find out by going to a gallery and experiencing it for yourself?
London's Tate Modern gallery features imaginative and provocative works of modern art, some of which use film and video images. One artist even blew up a shed and then created a frozen replica of the exploding wood that you can walk around.
You can also find details of local galleries in local newspapers or on your local council's web site. You can get more details on the Gallery Finder or 24 Hour Museum web sites.
If going to a gallery has inspired your creative juices, then why not give it a try yourself. The web has tonnes of information on art classes and art clubs.
Take a look at our links for further information. Some galleries, including Tate Britain and Tate Modern, run their own art clubs for young people.
Film
If you're a serious film fan and fancy a change from Hollywood blockbusters, why not take a look at your local independent cinema. As well as finding films that are a little bit different from the norm, you'll probably find some foreign film too. There really are some amazing films coming in from countries all over the world.
Dance and ballet
Dance and ballet can be a powerful art form that uses the universal language of movement. As with theatre, dance and ballet allows you to see a live performance that will be special and unique in your memory forever.
There are loads of different styles of dance. There?s ballet, jazz, 'street', African, contemporary, hip hop, break dance, flamenco, salsa and Latin, ballroom, South Asian? The list goes on and on.
People take different things from dance. Some people analyse what's going on and others look at it for the pure movement of the people involved in the event. It's up to you how you look at a performance.
Finding a local dance event or show is easy - try searching through local listings and newspaper web sites.
If you want to take part in a dance class yourself, classes are sometimes advertised in local newspapers or on the web site of your local leisure centre. Visit your local council's web site for further details.
For more information on the Arts, take a look at our list of useful links.
