kaileochave

[kaileochave]

The Importance of Art in time of COVID-19

As we rise to the challenge of our new-normal life in a global pandemic, despite this, art has still flourished. Artists are now digging into their imagination to relay health guidelines and spread messages of hope. Perceiving more clearly what needs to change in our pre-COVID-19 society. We are still experiencing a global pandemic. We are engaging with racial injustice made more visible with George Floyd's death and the recent protests across the globe. In times of crisis, we need humanity, expression, and the community that the arts create. What we put our energy and efforts into now will affect what our future would look like. In campaigning for arts support, the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts stated that the values we support today would determine what we have when this is over. Thus it is a time to value the arts. Whether big or small, sidewalk chalk art or community murals, art makes a difference in how we live our lives. The arts create wellness in our day-to-day lives by helping us process our lives individually and allowing us to come together collectively. Art allows us to communicate from afar, generating positivity, appreciation, and hope during COVID-19. In times of social injustice and unrest, art amplifies influential voices and messages. Art-making and viewing art allows us to process our experiences. Art helps us to express and to understand the world around us. We are unique in our human drive to create and engage with the arts. Historically, humans have been visually expressive beings. The cave of the hands, Cueva de las Manos, in Argentina, is an example of early visual expression. Ancient humans not only recorded their lives through art, but they also used art to express themselves. We do this today, too—the art creates community by depicting shared events and express our perspectives. We perceive an increased turn to the arts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, we have turned to art engagement as a source of comfort and strength. Participating in and viewing art makes us connect to a better universal human experience. Be it art-making at home, public murals, watching and listening to plays and music, or new-found interests in culinary arts, art is an expression of what it means to be human. As we globally grapple with inequalities that have always existed but are more visible and striking in the past weeks, we discern art used as a tool to create capable communities. Art can also allow us to understand each other on a deeper level. We can engage with online arts in a way to connect more deeply with current issues and events. There is a multitude of ways to experience the arts virtually during COVID-19. Museums are moving exhibits online. Virtual galleries are hosting online show openings and artist talks. With the internet at our fingertips, gaining access to art made by historically unrepresented voices and thoughtful museums are accessible and more valuable than ever. Art is a proven tool for stress reduction and well-being. There are countless studies into the physical and mental benefits of making art and the benefits of even looking at an artwork. Making and looking at art has long-term effects like boosting our brain function and our immune systems as well as contributing positively to our mental and emotional health. Art helps us process trauma, express feelings, and work through experiences. Art has promoted health within our homes during COVID-19 as families have been getting creative at home. As we are spending more time with ourselves and during this pandemic, art and craft-making have rocketed. Art gives us immeasurable personal and social benefits, relying on art to help us through difficult times. Art helps us record and process more than just individual experiences. Art reminds us that we are not alone and that we share a universal human experience. Through art, we feel deep emotions together and can process experiences, find connections, and create impact.

“Distancing Bench” | KIMBERLY A. KELZER, 62, FREELAND, WASH. | Dyed black fir wood, tape measure, cinder blocks | Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/07/06/art-pandemic-readers/?arc404=true 

Detail of a vintage propaganda-style poster by Vietnamese graphic artist Le Duc Hiep exhorting people to stay home during the coronavirus outbreak. (Courtesy of Le Duc Hiep) | Source: https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Arts/Asian-artists-hone-weapons-in-fight-against-COVID-19

Children’s Museum Houston, the colorful cutouts of youngsters that line the walkways have added pop: Masks.

Source: https://www.tmc.edu/news/2020/08/covid-19-inspires-masked-up-art-and-whimsy-around-houston/

[kaileochave]

Rewind Forward

“High school is about finding who you are because that’s more important than trying to be someone else” - in these 2 years that I have spent in Senior High School, I have lived my truest self. No hiding, no pretending, and of course no lying. This is quite a trip down to memory lane. To think that it’s my last year in school, time flies when you’re busy and to think that I have to welcome college soon. I still remember the first day, it was 2018 when I transferred to a new school and my god it was full of expectations with a hint of anxiety. Thinking about it gives me chills like I’m having a fever because of all the mediocre experiences that led to who I am right now. Everything was new, a new school, a new environment, new people, new mates, and I was worried if I was fit in this institution. I remember my first few steps inside the school and how my legs got shaky and soft like I was preparing for the most important part of my life and how I’ll succeed in the future. I didn’t know a single soul in this new place, not a single face even, but it seems that they were all angels welcoming me to this haven. The mood was set from the very first time the dialogue was committed. Still, I was struggling to decide who was real and inanimate. I gave myself some time and then made my choice. What a trip to memory lane. Excited yet horrified. I can still remember every event that I spent with the section, of course, I couldn’t forget the UN celebration from last year it was the most memorable. We poured everything that we have to ace the performance and we all acted as one. This year’s events were no exceptions either, we wanted our last year together epic and quite the memorabilia to have when we part ways. We were all extra and so supportive on so many levels, and for me, no one can ever par to your level guys. Every journey has its end, and this one seemed like it came too soon. The once a new school grew old, the environment where I tried to fit in and show who I was, the new mates that guided me and stayed in my ups and downs are now taking their first step in tertiary education. Most importantly I’m set to take a journey independently but to be honest I don’t even know if I’m ready to face another institution, other faces, another environment to ponder on. Loads of trust issues and anxiety are coming my way but because of my experience in high school, it wouldn’t be such an issue. Sadly, I won’t have the same faces that would smile to me but there is nothing wrong with knowing new faces, new experiences, and overall a new lifestyle.