Art in the times of Covid-19

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time” — Thomas Merton.

Art, we now know is an absolutely essential part of our lives. Whenever there is a need to reflect on life or the situations life sets us in, we turn to art. Through its various mediums we try to find solace, meaning, direction, pursuit and refuge.

We are all capable of creating art. We have in us the ability to seek, find and create. Creating and appreciating art gives pure joy and helps us express our emotions. It brings about harmony when faced with disruption in our lives. In the presence of creativity, moments of peace and calm wash over the uncertainty of existence.

The dictionary meaning is quite comprehensive — “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” Art refers to music, dance, painting, drawing, sketching, plays, cinema, literature, sculpture, photography, crafts, cooking and many other mediums.

During this pandemic, we sought comfort, entertainment and purpose through exploring different forms of art. For millions it was and still is an arduous time. So demanding has this year been that it has supassed all manner of suffering for a lot of people. What do we do when we feel helpless, demotivated and face uncertainty?

We turn to creativity. We survive our emotional turmoil by engaging in creativity. That is what we did. We reached for that unread or unfinished book, we researched what others are reading and bought new titles, we consumed hours of video and audio content, we painted and sketched especially with our children, hours of different ways of using colors, we cooked, OMG everyone now I think, can bake a cake, oven or no oven. Those of us who create music and dance got lost in it. We see thousands of new choreographies everyday. Making music must have been a spiritual experience for passionate musicians. Some of us went back to watching movies which have inspired us over the years. The art of visual storytelling always captures our imagination.

So art which was relegated to just a ‘hobby’ for many saved and sustained us. It gave us hope, peace, entertainment, emotional outlet and joy. We can now take comfort in the knowledge that creativity is within our reach. We can be assured that there is something to look forward to in the midst of pain and suffering.