Advocating for Art in the Age of COVID-19
“An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times. I think that is true of painters, sculptors, poets, musicians. As far as I’m concerned, it’s their choice, but I CHOOSE to reflect the times and situations in which I find myself. That, to me, is my duty. And at this crucial time in our lives, when everything is so desperate, when every day is a matter of survival, I don’t think you can help but be involved. Young people, black and white, know this. That’s why they’re so involved in politics. We will shape and mold this country or it will not be molded and shaped at all anymore. So I don’t think you have a choice. How can you be an artist and NOT reflect the times? That to me is the definition of an artist.” — Nina Simone
The Hypothesis
I will extend a challenge to my broader community, one I have tasked to myself as an artist, to be open and receptive to the impact of COVID-19. It is ignorant to believe that this “new normal” will fade away once the virus runs its course. Scientists predict a resurgence of COVID-19 in the future. Therefore, we have an opportunity to learn from the state of our world now and figure out better ways to respond the next time another tragedy like this occurs. I invite every single person to consider exploring and supporting the arts as a means to connect with the community and honestly reflect the times.
The arts de-stigmatize frightening challenges by giving people a platform to communicate and come together for the shared goal of discovering solutions. It is this process of inquiry that bolsters the community and allows us to honestly and candidly reflect the times.
I propose that we fearlessly apply the process of making art despite the fear so many feel right now. This requires objectively receiving the facts, asking questions, asking more questions within a group of your peers and finally working together to forge responses and solve problems. If we use this period in history to seriously consider applying this process, not only to creating works of art but to problem-solving in general, I am hopeful it will yield a more unified and healthy community.
The Facts
Specific task forces around the globe are working to interpret, understand and mitigate this virus. They are working in a race against time as it indiscriminately infects thousands of people. Commerce has been split into two categories, essential and nonessential, businesses are suffering, workers have been furloughed, students are participating in online learning for the first time and millions of people now experience their only sense of community through a computer or phone screen. Every single day, more humans are infected with COVID-19. Hundreds of thousands of cases result in recovery and we have so many skilled and selfless healthcare professionals to thank for going above and beyond what is required to do their job. These doctors, nurses and support staff describe their working conditions as a “war zone,” lacking adequate supplies to treat the influx of infected patients. They endure the grueling sight of a substantial amount of death every single day.
Organizations will fold, performance series will stop, funding will be cut and it will all be a result of the cascade of devastating effects this historical window of time is pressuring our society to endure. Despite these fears, it is my duty to address how this pandemic is influencing my life. It is also my responsibility to address the lives of every individual, especially those who lack a creative outlet to speak up about their own experience. We as artists must reflect the times of those on the front lines, the unemployed single parents forced to homeschool, the tired and ill, and the global community entrenched in fear.
The Questions
These times have the potential to tear people apart, dividing us further than the boundaries of recommended physical distancing. How can we come together to unite as a powerful force against a viral enemy?
It is the fear of the unknown that overwhelms us and we all just want this to be over. How do we manage this unsettling fear?
The impact this virus is having on the first quarter of 2020 will affect the economy, the environment and society indefinitely. Where do we turn when we do not have the answers?
If it is the duty of the artist to reflect these times, fear, uncertainty, loneliness and crumbling hope en masse are a few immediate thoughts that come to mind. Masks over mouths, gloves to cover shaky hands cracked from over-washing and empty stomachs of the hungry and unemployed are sensations that arise in my body. These thoughts and sensations bleed into my daily dance improvisation practice now held in the open space of my living room. Is it our duty as artists to explore these struggles of living in the age of COVID-19?
When I list these dismal questions asked out of collective fear, I am overcome with a responsibility to respond. My immediate community of fellow artists is an intimate, close-knit, empathetic and caring group of diverse individuals and we dedicate our energy to investigating questions such as these. We examine how to critically think about our role in responding to all, acutely specific or massively broad, forms of adversity.
This examination poses arguably the most important question: what is this global pandemic really supposed to teach all of us?
The Answers
My role on teams usually falls in the category of secretary. I listen to five different answers to the same question, record them and start the conversation on how to build one comprehensive response. If my duty is to reflect these times, then I will take on the task of interpreting and synthesizing answers to the endless list of questions surrounding this global pandemic. Trusting in the ranging expertise of the members of my community, I begin to review these inquiries in the age of COVID-19.
We must approach our responses to this crisis by seeing the virus and its effect on the individual. We must acknowledge the human beings we are losing and respond to how that loss touches each and every one of us. We must find strength in the simple but powerful idea that change can be enacted when we as individuals can safely meet to discuss, argue, experiment and ultimately create solutions.
The efforts of making art undergo scrutiny when it comes time to ask the broader community to support the people partaking in these collaborative projects. Artists and supporters of the arts will respond to COVID-19 by reducing polarity between each other as a means to allow the creative process to properly unfold. It is the practice of making art and the exercise of working together that will provide essential comfort in this time of extreme need.
Now, more than ever, I turn to dance for strength. I turn to writing for its ability to allow me to use my voice. I turn to music for comfort. I look at photos and paintings to escape my reality. I turn to theatre and film to transcend my reality. We marvel at the beauty in a dance, song, sculpture or image on the surface, but where are all the contributing minds that came together to create it? The process of making art exposes the reach individuals can have when they come together to forge one unique masterpiece.
Through virtual classes and other online activities, the dance community has developed some of the most creative ways to stay connected while we are apart. Dances need space to be danced in and if the COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed us all with one thing, it is the desire for large, open spaces to share with bodies that touch, lean on and move with one another. Dancing allows the brain to transmit messages through the body and share responses within the most vulnerable context of performance or improvisation. Acquiring resources and time for this investigation is both the greatest gift and biggest challenge because this process often requires some type of support. When I create choreography or when I train in disciplines and techniques of dance, it is my opportunity to take risks in the name of discovery. Due to the limitations of physical space in the age of “social distancing,” I stretch my resources and return to a motif often overlooked in dance: it is essentially and in its truest form, “making something out of nothing.” Reframing our conditions to work in our favor is single-handedly the biggest takeaway this crisis has produced in the dance community. This is how my creative network is responding and this is how we give back to one another.
To advocate for art is to convey to the public that supporting art can impact systemic change. The most exciting element of our work is to be confident in not having to “sell” an idea or “convince” generous patrons to “buy into” the work. The work speaks for itself. The call to action of the artist never begins with the need for financial backing or large audiences but those things often supplement the exposure of art to the public. I am proud to produce monumental work, work that investigates answers to questions we all are asking, and share it with the greater public. By stripping down the specific statements, opinions, or claims we communicate through art, we see that music, dance, theatre, literature, visual arts, and other mediums, become an opportunity to collaborate and produce as a force, and as one. Now, and moving forward, we must face the paradox of coming together as we are isolated to build a strong collective force to face all tragedies, viral or otherwise, that await us.
