Swindon Museum and Art Gallery has launched a new digital project to bring its collection of modern art to people’s living rooms during the coronavirus lockdown.

Dubbed ‘Art on Tour At Home’, the project will enable people to engage with the gallery’s modern art collection through social media, online resources, a dedicated blog, as well as art history podcasts.

Art on Tour was initially launched in 2019 after Swindon Borough Council agreed to display selected items from Swindon’s art and museum collection at rotating exhibitions at various heritage and civic buildings. The new digital offering will offer similar shows in an online space.

The Old Town gallery’s collection of Modern British Art, which comprises over 600 pieces of artwork including works by three Turner Prize winners, is acknowledged to be one of the most nationally significant collections outside of London.

Swindon Museum And Art Gallery’s collection covers 140 years of modern art and includes household names like L.S Lowry, Lucian Freud, Grayson Perry, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Howard Hodgkin and Frank Auerbach. The collection features work from most major movements and schools in Modern British Art, as well as an extensive collection of work by local artists like Desmond Morris.

‘Art on Tour At Home’ provides daily ‘Art Burst’ online learning resources to support families in lockdown, curated online galleries featuring the best of the collection, inspiring ‘Art Snaps’ podcasts, an art blog with news and interviews from the art world and much more.

Councillor Dale Heenan, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Town Centre, Arts and Heritage, says: “Art on Tour was my way to make Swindon's art collection more accessible to as many people as possible. Art on Tour at Home takes this to the next level and is about trying to think differently during this difficult time of the coronavirus lockdown.”

Mags Parker, Learning Officer for Art on Tour, adds: “Galleries, museums and their collections are vital in difficult times, providing joy, comfort, reflection and inspiration. This project is the next best thing to hanging pieces of it on our living room walls next to the TV.”

To access to Art on Tour At Home follow the blog swindonmuseumandartgallery.org.uk/artontour or like @ArtonTour2020 on Facebook.