A new report on the personal experiences of artists working through the pandemic aims to understand the long-term impacts on the creative sector and make policy recommendations to support recovery. Eithne Nightingale shares the stories.
The Stay Home Stories research* was conducted through in-depth interviews with both visual and performance artists in 2021 and shows how deeply Covid disrupted not just the lives of individual artists but the creative ecology of the entire country.
An already precarious sector faced a crisis as work was cancelled, events were postponed and opportunities in a largely freelance economy fell away. Some artists had regular or part-time work as lecturers or museum educators that transferred online but others were less fortunate and not able to access any of the government funding on offer.
Research participants reported varying levels of stress during the pandemic, experiencing a loss of creativity and isolation from other creatives, particularly during the first lockdown. Some found solace in nature – photographing or drawing in parks and gardens; others wrote or illustrated a daily diary, learnt new skills, experimented with different media or valued an opportunity to reflect on their creative practice.
Contradictory themes emerged
Some older artists took to archiving their work: “The pandemic, you know, brings death very close.” Younger people experienced different emotions: “Give me a chance, man … I’m 25, you feel somehow your youth is being robbed.” One autistic sound artist found the pandemic suited him well: “You were allowed to stay home, there wasn’t pressure to go out.” He felt “able to maybe work properly for the first time in [his] life”.
When denied access to studios or specialist equipment people adapted their living space, built studios in their garden or, in the case of one artist exploring domestic abuse, used surfaces in her home for print work. Others accessed equipment and materials online or used natural found materials.
Eid Textile Tales by Praxis Wings women’s group and Teresa Hare Duke
Those running participatory art projects found innovative ways of engaging people from their homes, sending out packs of material and teaching art and design skills online. Teresa Hare Duke worked with refugee women in this way to produce Eid Textile Tales based on Muslim women’s memories of Eid in their country of origin and in the UK. “Despite my misgivings … we created something that proved rewarding and a source of real pride for the women who made it.”
Two apparently contradictory themes emerged. Some embraced new technology, learning video production or launching a film premiere online. Katie Whitford, isolating with her partner, drew people’s home interiors in response to photographs submitted to her on Instagram, that she then sent back them. But others reverted to or rediscovered old technology sourcing analogue cameras, using a typewriter, bookbinding and making colour dyes from plants.
Closer relationship to space
Some developed a closer relationship to their domestic space, their garden or local community, whereas others embraced the global. Ali Pretty from Kinetika held online seminars with silk weavers in Kolkata; Sapphire Goss developed a collaborative film version of the Exquisite Corpse Film in Two Parts – where international contributors saw a part of what the last person filmed before adding to the sequence.
The pandemic itself became a source of inspiration, with photographers Adam Isfendiyar and myself documenting people on their thresholds. Fungai Marima explored the rise of domestic abuse during the pandemic, Jenny Blanchard, who was sheltering, painted remembered walks to the shops, to her studio. Alaa Alsaraji, artist in residence at the Museum of the Home explored rituals of care during the pandemic and people’s utopian visions of home.
Outside spaces became important not just for relaxation and inspiration but for performance, exhibitions and socially -distanced community engagement activities. Kinetika produced Land of the Fanns, an outdoor installation of silk flags inspired by 100 stories based on walks between Dagenham and West Thurrock: “People loved it, exploring all the stories and kids counting all the flags. Limited numbers and time slots kept people safe.”
Mandala made from the waste from the River Thames. Photo: Kinetica, Unique Imaging
In another project, Mandalas, local communities made large-scale geometric circular designs made out of objects from the environment – plastic from the Thames, food from home, encouraging respect and connection to the landscape. The pandemic often intensified artists’ focus on issues such as the climate crisis, the Black Lives Matter movement, inequalities in housing, health and the environment.
Key recommendations
Following analyses of these pandemic experiences, the researchers developed a series of proposals to support individual creative practitioners and the wider cultural sector including:
• More accessible and flexible funding schemes, and advice on employment opportunities in similar or related fields, particularly for freelance workers – both while emerging from the pandemic but also during future crises.
• Support for the mental health and wellbeing of artists from diverse backgrounds, given their increasing insecurity and vulnerability in a fast-changing world.
• Recognition of, and support for, the powerful role of art in addressing inequalities highlighted by the pandemic and contributing to social justice.
• A review of housing needs alongside those of working/studio space, particularly for less established creative practitioners.
It seems clear, from the testimony of our research participants, that material changes and direct support are needed, to build more inclusive and supportive creative networks, so that we can sustain and nurture all kinds of artistic talent beyond the pandemic.
As our creative communities heal, there are opportunities to build back better, by addressing some of the needs of a precarious sector and learning from the pandemic. New creative and collaborative ways of working that became the norm under Covid restrictions can now offer inspiration for the future.
Dr Eithne Nightingale is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at Queen Mary University of London.
* “Stay Home”: Rethinking the Domestic in the COVID-19 pandemic (Stay Home Stories) funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council as part of the UK Research and Innovation rapid response to COVID-19.
To read the report and find out more about the wider research project, go to www.stayhomestories.co.uk
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