We are in lockdown……again. Working from home; my studio turned into a temporary office. Events being cancelled, despondency reigns, frustration and exasperation are twin riders in this chariot race being led by the voices of doubt and discontent.
I am blessed to have a day job working in the Arts. I get to work on projects that develop over time and involve countless communities, individuals and artists of all kinds. Right now we are being challenged. In an industry which is already hanging on by the skin of its teeth, there is precious little financial support to go on doing what creatives do. The only way out seems to be for the vaccine roll out to take effect.
What is it that creatives do? They give colour and meaning to our lives.
Imagine a world without music? Imagine never dancing, never reading poetry, novels, blogs, text messages. Imagine never watching a movie or television show, wearing an outfit that was more than a sack, or living in a house that was more than a cave. Imagine a world without the seven wonders? A world without breakthroughs, a world without communication, a world without distinction in any way A world where we cannot express ideas and innovations.
It is creatives that make these things possible.
With Covid there are cancellations and postponements that are having a massive impact on the creative Industries; the technicians, the sound and lighting crews, the roadies, the film makers, actors, writers, the stall holders at events, the booking companies, the performers. Many are giving up …every day I see people walking away from things they have worked hard to establish and trying to reinvent themselves in new ways.
It doesn’t look like things will change re lockdowns until the vaccination rates in Australia are up to 70%. That means artists, performers, musicians and all the associated industries are going to struggle to survive until that happens.
Realise that the Netflix show you are bingeing on would not happen without creatives and they didn’t come into the world as fully fledged actors or directors… there was an environment that nurtured them to greatness. Find out how you can support the development of that greatness developing in your local community. Be patient with postponements… Hold on to your tickets… get the jab.
For me I hope that my show In Consideration of Trees will go on in November at the Centre for Regenerative Arts and will be planning with that in mind. If Lockdowns rain on my parade I will have to put up an umbrella and work it out …. put off until another day.
In the mean time, we seem to be working harder than ever.
Outside the sun is shining, the roads are quiet and the only sound is the wind and the noise of my neighbours leaf blower.
Small, first world inconveniences. I am grateful to live in a world and a time when we have so many options and we have vaccines to protect us as they did when I was a kid when we were immunised against polio, measles, mumps, tetanus, smallpox and when we travelled we had a vaccination passport against typhoid and cholera.
Its not the end of the world…or a major conspiracy ( in my view the powers that be are just not that efficient to be able to launch a global conspiracy)
So I await my second jab of Astra Zenica and look forward to being with friends and family and to enjoy the life we live enriched by a creative, artistic, cultural life.