- Ray Monde
The show must go on. Online.
What you can do to help artists during COVID-19.
Everyone is meeting their friends for drinks online. From our dining chairs in Seattle we look across the table through our laptop to our friends at the other side of the table in Summer Hill. We’re all drinking white negronis and it’s beautiful. Two hours in a heartbeat.
People are working online, making startling discoveries about the working life of their partners. Kids are learning online. And they’re gorging on Tiger King.
And for some, their lives have shut down. There’s no work for waiters, bar staff, performers, just to name a few.
The arts need your help.
Art museums are shut. Theatres are shut. Art exhibition openings, one of the peak times for sales, are shuttered. The coronavirus struck right in the middle of my new-found artist-friend Tara Flores’ exhibition at J Rinehart Gallery.
It’s also put a stop to The Other Art Fair in Los Angeles where Tara and me – along with 98 other artists were going to show our work in April.
Three things you can do to help artists during the coronavirus.
There’s massive stimulus packages that are ramping up that will bring some relief to those most impacted by the novel corona virus. More importantly for artists, there’s other things you can do to help them.
1. Talk to them about their work.
Whether it’s on their blog, in their social media feed or in an online forum, now is one of the best times to talk to an artist about their work.
Go beyond ‘Love this!’ and ask them what their influences are, how they create, what inspires them, what kind of art they like.
People are scared about talking about art because they don’t want to look stupid for not knowing stuff. Guess what? We don’t know either, we make it as we go along. That’s the nature of art. We’re not going to judge you, we’re going to love you.
2. Share artists’ work on social media.
The art world is all about connections. And your opinion is really important to the people you share your life with on social media.
So do something that will help us all in the dark days of COVID-19 and share art you like with the people you love. Sharing art will build an artist’s profile and introduce them to potential collectors.
I can even get you started – here’s artists you should know if they’re not already on your radar:
3. Buy art during the corona virus crisis.
We can’t always buy art. We especially can’t always buy art when the world economy is in the toilet. But if you can, if you have it in your capacity to buy art, then there’s no better time to do it than right now. I mean, now, now.
Especially if you can afford to put your stimulus money to something good. You can even claim it on your tax!
Plus, if you need another plus, there’s great outfits like Art Money who can help you buy art in ten little chunks.
And if you have your credit card in hand, there’s no better place to start than right here. Or here 🙂
Stay safe. We’ll get through this together.