On the off chance, you want to hear me talk about my forthcoming book, by which time I will (or may) have had some reviews, you can book now.
Everyone wants me to know about the future of museums. I wish I did. It’s so hard to predict what will happen post-Coronavirus. This morning, I was told that we would all be so addicted to Virtual Reality that we wouldn’t have to bother traipsing round the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa in a heaving crowd. But so far, the more art is available online, the greater the interest in its reality – to look, to experience the real thing in all its uncomfortable three-dimensionality, and I’m not yet persuaded that this will die away. Images in reproduction can never give the same frisson, nor can I be persuaded that the idea of authenticity is some make-belief delusion. It’s like saying people will no longer want to shake hands or hug. Hasn’t lockdown taught us that people don’t want to experience the world from their armchair ?
https://courtauld.ac.uk/event/the-art-museum-in-modern-times
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 
I am sure you are right. I cannot imagine a world without live music.
Yes, same issue – so much that’s good online, but never quite the same or as real as the real thing. Charles
Posted in error before I checked for typos and before I said – however virtual discussions, lectures and launches of books have been wonderful and I do hope they will continue.
If MONA is an example you may be right. Since it reopened last week on a Friday to Monday basis, the “car park full” sign has been up every day (and it’s a huge car park) and a long stream of cars is parked along the roadside.
Yes, doesn’t surprise me at all. Charles