It seemed like overnight, all of our lives were changed. One week, we were living life full of optimism for the new year 2020, and the next we were in lockdown. Montreal, the city were I am from, turned into a ghost town overnight. A city which thrives on festivals and music, with joyous walks through its many parks and strolls through its lively streets, now became a graveyard. Those who dared to walk in town during the first weeks of lockdown were akin to gravediggers strolling sulkily to and fro. There was no cheer in the expressions of the passersby. It seemed like all was lost.
There wasn’t much left to do but wait impatiently at home while spending copious amounts of time on social media, waiting for the next update concerning the virus. After the first few weeks it seemed something was terribly wrong with how we all were handling this. We watched as many people became overwhelmed by the fear mongering perpetrated by Mainstream Media. Social distancing became an accepted term overnight. It should be called physical distancing, that is what it really is, but I digress. With ever increasing amounts of people walking around wearing ineffective masks, there emerged a group who seemed to be less affected by the changes happening around them. These people, were the artists.
Art has been the cornerstone of my life since I was young. I never put much thought into it. Creating was simply a part of me. I did notice that during the most difficult times as a child, I would tend to lean more towards creating things rather than wallowing in self pity for the bad things happening around me. Be it writing poetry, playing the guitar or sketching, I always found an outlet to express myself.
As an adult, I realized that I was not alone. Many other artists I know or heard of, expressed how they began to focus more on their respective arts during Covid. We turned off our televisions. We removed ourselves from social medias pernicious influence, and we focused on our craft. What I saw was not necessarily a response to Covid. Artists were spending time with mastery of the technical aspects of their creations for their own sake. The lockdown became almost a blessing in disguise for creators. No longer could we spend time in restaurants or bars. Gone were the days of spending a Saturday walking downtown, passing through store after store without purchasing anything. We were left with ourselves, and that became a great thing. Amidst the madness and paranoia, we as artists had a crazy-proof vest on.
Returning to our social media habits, we learned that many artists were working on perfecting their artistic expressions. Be it by continuously spinning the wheel to make more beautiful pottery, or by practicing hour after hour with self-portraits in a makeshifty home studio, we learned that during times of crisis there is a healthy outlet for us all. It is a lesson to be learned, not just for artists.
As we venture into the future, with more madness awaiting us by talks of a second wave of corona, we can be more prepared on how to react and behave. We can take comfort in the fact that, quite literarily, art saves lives.
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