Press room

The Barbican will continue its livestreamed concert series Live from the Barbican, as well as its curated digital cross-arts programme during its temporary closure from Thursday 5 November until Wednesday 2 December 2020. The Cinema On Demand programme will also present an expanded online programme of exclusive international films and live ScreenTalks from four visiting film festivals. 

Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Managing Director, Barbican said: “The Barbican is a place for people and ideas to connect and while our building may be temporarily closing to the public again, we’ll continue to work with artists and creatives on our vibrant digital programme, bringing you the joy of culture and creativity at home. Following the lockdown earlier this year we have expanded our online offer to include our first Cinema on Demand platform, curated by our expert in-house team, our first livestreamed concert series featuring artists including The Kanneh-Mason Family, The Divine Comedy and Sir Bryn Terfel, as well as a mix of free digital content via the Read, Watch & Listen page of our website.

“We’re fortunate to have strong artistic partnerships and will continue to do what we can to support artists, young creatives and our partner organisations throughout this difficult time. Our thanks to the City of London Corporation, and the generosity of all our supporters who have enabled us to still bring artists and audiences together.

“We’ve so loved welcoming audiences back in-person since July and the safety measures we’ve put in place have led to 97% of audience members saying they’ve felt safe visiting our building. We look forward to reopening our doors once again and welcoming everyone back to the Barbican as soon as we can.”

Changes to existing programme:

• Live from the Barbican: concerts by BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo (6 Nov), and, as part of EFG London Jazz Festival, Cassie Kinoshi with SEED Ensemble (14 Nov) and Shabaka Hutchings with Britten Sinfonia (18 Nov) will continue to be livestreamed for online audiences.
• The Ghost Light: the Barbican is planning to reschedule performances of The Ghost Light in its Theatre. All ticket lottery entries will be included in the draw for the new dates.
• Flight at the Bridge Theatre will now start performances from Thursday 10 December. The date for press performances will be confirmed shortly.
• Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer: the exhibition will reopen on Thursday 3 December and run until Sunday 3 January 2021.
• Toyin Ojih Odutola: A Countervailing Theory: the exhibition will reopen on Thursday 3 December and run until Sunday 24 January 2021. In the meantime, a digital walkthrough of the exhibition, narrated by Toyin Ojih Odutola, is available on the Barbican’s YouTube Channel.
• Cinema screenings of Exhibition on Screen: Frida Kahlo, originally scheduled for Wednesday 18 November, will now screen on Saturday 12 December. Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace, scheduled for Thursday 5 November, has been moved to Thursday 14 January 2021.
• The Barbican Conservatory, home to more than 1,500 species of tropical plants and trees, will reopen to the public on Thursday 3 December.
• The Communities in Residence series – which provides free space in the Barbican for local community groups to use in a way that is useful to them – will restart once the Barbican reopens to the public.

Information about ticket refunds and changes are available on the Barbican’s website and ticket holders are being contacted by Box Office.

Digital programme highlights:  

• On Wednesday 4 November, the Barbican releases a new Nothing Concrete podcast. In this inspiring conversation, Nigerian-American artist Toyin Ojih Odutola and Erin J Gilbert, curator of Modern and Contemporary African and African American Art, talk about creative process and storytelling.
• Cinema On Demand will continue to offer a curated selection of independent new releases, ScreenTalks and exclusive partner festivals’ content including films from the London Palestine Film Festival, Doc ’n Roll, Fringe Queer Film & Arts Festival and London International Animation Festival.
• Soundhouse: Intimacy and Distance, a free digital showcase of experimental audio works and written commissions exploring audio culture in a physically distanced world.
• JARV IS… performance at the Barbican – A Musical Response to Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer – is available to watch for free online.

The Barbican believes in creating space for people and ideas to connect through its international arts programme, community events and learning activity. To keep its programme accessible to everyone, and to keep investing in the artists it works with, the Barbican needs to raise more than 60% of its income through ticket sales, commercial activities and fundraising every year. Donations can be made here: barbican.org.uk/support-us