Many museums turned to their existing social media presences to engage their audience online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspired by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and Instagram accounts such as the Dutch Tussen Kunst & Quarantaine (“between art and quarantine”) and Covid Classics, the Getty sponsored the Getty Museum Challenge, inviting people to use everyday objects to recreate works of art and share their creations on social media, prompting thousands of submissions. The museum was among those singled out for particular praise by industry analysts for their successful social media content strategy during the shutdown, both for the challenge and for incorporating its works into the popular video game Animal Crossing.
How did the Getty Museum in Los Angeles respond to the global pandemic?
Like other art institutions, the Getty Museum leveraged its social media presence in a creative way to keep engagement levels high during the pandemic. The Getty invited people to reimagine classic works of art using every day objects, the results of which were posted on social media for others' enjoyment and commentary.  Thousands of people were inspired to post submissions, and industry analysts praised the museum for this successful social media strategy.