International Markets

Part of Japan-UK Season of Culture 2019-20, the new Northern Ballet work 'Geisha' was set to tour the UK during the spring. Due to COVID-19, touring is currently on hold.

SXSW is running an online-only panel programme as a replacement for the cancelled 2020 festival, available live for this year's registrants on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11am Central Time.

SXSW is also archiving its conversations, interviews and Q & As on YouTube the day after each broadcast. Subjects range across interactive, film and music with topics that affect design, mental health, tech, VR, literature and activism.

Serpentine Galleries has partnered with NOWNESS and K11 Art Foundation for a new online video exhibition called Out of Blueprints. Each week an East Asian artist will showcase a digital work via the NOWNESS platform. You can watch and follow the series here.

The upcoming program so far includes:

Shakespeare's Globe has handpicked six productions from the last ten years to show for free from 6 April 2020. They will also release the entire 2012 international run of Globe to Globe, which saw artists from around the world work Shakespeare in their own languages, and the 37 films from The Complete Walk created for Shakespeare 400. Finally, 'Love in Isolation' will see luminaries of the cultural world "sharing Shakespeare's words from their place of sanctuary".

The films to be made available via Globe Player on 6 April are:

Google Art and Culture have virtual tours of around 2,500 museums and their collections from around the world, including the British Museum, ready for you to explore while at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Discover the collections on offer on Google Arts and Culture here.

Do you have any initiatives to help support or open up culture to everyone during the coronavirus crisis? Please share them with us at info@theculturediary.com.

PRS for Music has gathered UK musicians set to play the cancelled SXSW 2020 in Austin, Texas to record the British Music Embassy sessions. These sessions be shared online for everyone to watch. Look out for updates on social media with the #BMESessions. Edit (26/03/20): the British Music Embassy sessions are now available on BBC Introducing's YouTube page or you can watch below.

British Council has paused a lot of its international and UK activity. To find out more on British Council activity in your country, follow the instructions on their website. We have republished the statement and information below for convenience.

"During this uncertain time, our students, customers and partners’ health is our priority.

Read our March 2020 newsletter, headlined by the Culture Diary's sponsorship of the opening reception for the British Music Embassy, the UK government presence at SXSW 2020. It includes details of RSVP for any cultural organisations attending the festival and our programming of artist Anna Ridler's AI visual art installation.

This is in addition to our usual selection of industry news, and welcomes to our latest registered organisations.

SXSW in Austin, Texas – taking place 13–22 March 2020 –  hosts an annual UK government presence where we showcase British companies and creativity under the festival's Interactive banner. With trade stands in the Austin Convention Center and activity at the British Music Embassy (BME) venue – including immersive tech, AI and visual art as well as a handpicked selection of new UK bands – the Government showcases some of the best of British at SXSW.

Coventry 2021 UK City of CUlture Trust has announced its International Changemakers Bursary winners in partnership with British Council. All from the city, each Changemaker will receive funding to travel to countries around the world to uncover connections, develop ideas and create lasting cultural exchanges.

Music from Kenya, art from South Africa and traditional dance from Jamaica are some of the subjects that will be explored in 20 different Changemakers projects, which will bring a wide range of cultures back to Coventry.