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Our City Together is a new digital programme from several huge City of London cultural institutions, including the Museum of London, the Barbican and the London Symphony Orchestra, plus City landmarks like Tower Bridge and the Monument.
It’s sort of easy just to associate the City with, well, money (not to put too fine a point on it). But the Square Mile, the original heart of the capital, is also stuffed with history and creativity. And some banks. Now this collaborative venture between several of its cultural establishments sees a raft of digital content to explore, bringing in lesser-known but fascinating venues like Bishopsgate Institute and Bevis Marks Synagogue, too.
The programme is equally wide-ranging in scope. So for every (excellent) Stephen Fry podcast about Beethoven, there’s one about Covid conspiracy theories from some kids in Brent. For every archive performance from the LSO, there’s a colouring-in activity.
Our City Together is grouping material around the themes of ‘The Home’ and ‘Kindness’ as part of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week. There are also specially created works around the Let’s Talk campaign, which wants to get people to open up about their mental health issues and experiences – something that’s hard enough to do at the best of times, but which has proved particularly important under the stresses of lockdown.
This is a great chance to see this corner of London in a refreshingly different light.
Our City Together is online now. There’s also a resources page with more information.
Find more things to keep you occupied during lockdown.
And take a virtual tour of one of London’s great museums and galleries.