Let’s Face it, We’d All Be Screwed Without the Arts
Around the world, many of us are having to adjust to a “new normal” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with millions undertaking self-isolation. This means only leaving the house for essentials and fresh air. While people still work remotely from home, there has been a record-breaking rise in redundancy and unemployment rates due to the devastating effects of COVID-19 on the economy. COVID-19 has taken so much from the world in the past two months; jobs, socialisation, sports etc., and consequently given us an enormous amount of free time.
Where do most people look for entertainment when they have free time at home? The answer is the arts. I’m talking about writing, drawing, painting, making music, crafting, and the list goes on and on. Many artists have taken the opportunity to use this lockdown period as an artistic exploration to create more content. Even those who may not consider themselves artists and have never had artistic hobbies have taken to creating artistic content/pieces. I have always been considered an ‘arts kid’. I participated in musicals in and out of school until the age 15; I started learning to play the guitar when I was eight. I took music as a class till the end of school. The arts have always been a huge part of my identity, yet since I have been studying at University to become a Psychologist, I have always had to put my love of the arts on the back burner.
Let’s face it; we’d be screwed without the arts and the artists that create them. Most of the passive activities we are participating in under lockdown are created by artists. Watching TV shows/movies on Netflix, playing video games, reading books, listening to music, etc. Just imagine being in self-isolation for the six weeks that New Zealand has been without any of these mediums to entertain ourselves. Yes, be very terrified by that thought.
Unfortunately, in New Zealand and many other countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has led the government to ban social gatherings, leaving some sectors of the arts industry virtually non-existent. Examples of these are productions, clubs, street performances, etc. While some sectors of the arts industry are in tatters, others are thriving under lockdown. These artists have a social media presence since people spend more time on social media during lockdown (as if people weren’t already spending enough time on social media pre-coronavirus). These artists usually work with visual mediums (paintings, digital and hand drawings, fashion, writing, etc.).
This current tense climate has made people assess what we want our society to look like. My wish for the arts in a post-COVID-19 world is for people to realise how important the arts are finally. I wish for a future where schools give their arts programmes adequate funding. Where a person is encouraged and told, they will have a viable career in their passion. Where parents encourage a child’s love of the arts and don’t try to sway them to sports. Most of all, I wish that when someone tries to challenge the importance of the arts, they are reminded of this point in history, the COVID-19 pandemic, and how we would have lost all hope without the arts.