Artistic initiatives and proposals in times of quarantine

It’s when facing big crises, when society tends to show its most creative side. That capacity to renovate and adapt to new ways of using everyday tools and media. That’s precisely what happened during these days, where most of us are in quarantine: artists, galleries and other artistic and cultural agents who have seen their normal workflows affected by the current situation, often being forced to stop their regular works and postpone or cancel activities, found a way to use the internet and the interconnectivity of today’s society to create important projects and continue providing access to Art. Here are some of the projects we got wind of.

Compromise between artists and collectors

Under the hashtag #ArtistSupportPledge the British artist Matthew Burrows shook up the artists social media channels by creating an initiative based on a very simple concept: artists will upload the works they want to sell to their own IG profile at a maximum price of 200€ (shipping not included) including the hashtag. Once an artist sells works for a total amount of 1000€, he or she will have to buy an artwork of another artist taking part of the initiative. Follow @artistsupportpledge to learn more about the project and start looking for artworks for a great price with the #artistsupportpledge and actively support the sector.

Moreover, together with the artist Keith Tyson Burrows they’ve launched a second project: the creative community @isolationartschool where artists like Urs Fischer or Justin Mortimer, amongst others, share tutorials, projects and tips for other artists.

Accounts as  @artintimesofcovid and @artistsinquarantine, the latest curated by Giada Pellicari, share works of artists currently living in cities in quarantine to promote them in the online community.

Charity Sales

Antonio Colombo, an Italian gallery based in Milan, offers a variety of artworks which sales incomes will be donated entirely to the Italian Civil Protection. Amongst the works you can find prints of the Canadian artist Ryan Heshka, sketches of Daniel Johnston and oil paintings by Andrea Salvino. You can find everything in a price range from 80€ to 800€ and the shipping is for free. Check out their online shop.

The Madrid based gallery La Causa Galería joined to the cause and decided to donate the third part of the sales of selected artworks to Doctors without Borders Spain. The selection includes works from Andrés Lozano, Martin Kazanietz (Gordopelota), Gviiie, Misterpiro, Imon Boy, Beya Rebaï or Zesar Bahamonte among others. Buying for a good cause is the best way to buy, so check out their web.

A virtual exhibition

The cancelation of Art Basel Hong Kong 2020 implied the cancellation of dozens of parallel artistic events planned during the city’s art month. Facing the catastrophe, the local artistic community united to create a new online platform: ART Power HK. ‘Viewing rooms’, guided tours and interviews with local artists and collectors. An alternative which brings together more than 60 galleries, museums and auction houses.

In Europe, galleries like the Swiss Kolly Gallery decided to give a twist to their planned exhibitions like the one of the French artist Koralie who presented her works virtually. Known for the representation of a kaleidoscopic nature, ‘Way of Boro’ is a series which unites personal and artistic influences, motives, folklore, juxtaposition, fragmentation and repetition. The exhibition is recently visible in Kolly gallery’s website and artworks can also be bought on Artsy.

The museum (and the streets) from your coach

Additionally to the virtual tours hundreds of museums around the world now offer to users, it’s again Instagram initiatives the ones to take a step further. Under the hashtag #MuseumFromHome institutions like MoMA or the MET share additional contents like conferences and previously recorded gatherings, podcasts, links to documentary files… One of our favorites is the interactive installation by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, which is currently shown in The Board, Los Angeles.

Google Arts & Culture offers tours through the streets of London with the aim to find Banksy’s most famous artworks, providing the user with additional information about the history of Street Art and Graffiti. Also, users have the possibility to visit exhibitions like the East Side Gallery of Berlin, the murals created for Coachella or the museum of public art in the Bronx virtually.