All of us have been affected by the challenges posed by the pandemic such as business closures, doctors having to work long hours, and the creative side of artists. Many artists have gained motivation, while others have lost their desire to work. Some have used quarantine to explore their creative side, while others felt trapped indoors.
For Zena Amer, an artist living in Saudi Arabia, the pandemic was an unexpected turn of events but helped her organize her thoughts and gave her enough time to create. According to Amer, ‘[the pandemic] was weirdly relaxing, it felt like time itself stopped; relationships, work, responsibilities just didn’t matter anymore.’
Despite the fear and uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, Amer managed to look on the brighter side of things. Art helped her feel at ease and provided her with an escape from reality.
This was the opposite for another artist, Maryam, since her inspiration came from things she saw, felt, and experienced. For her to stay at home was challenging and affected her motivation at first but she started to be creative again after adapting to the circumstances. ‘I could honestly say that I created some of my favorite works during the pandemic,’ Maryam said.
Some saw the pandemic as a source of inspiration. An artist from Philadelphia known as Pops Tuna started to create even more works of art, which made him realize he didn’t want to do anything but create art.
Feeling solitude made him more motivated than ever. He wrote ’’I feel like it’s really cathartic, so being able to do that every day was super enjoyable.” Being in a tough situation, art really helped him to stay focused in life.
Though it was difficult for some artists to concentrate at first, producing art helped them to open up. “At first, it was hard but then it was some type of escaping from the reality which comforted me,” Özlem Karaosman said. Surroundings were not helpful for her as it felt more of ‘Phantasy captured’ but she still had her creative side to help her through.
For a student artist, the pandemic was easy at the beginning, but later on, it got difficult for her. As Poonam tried to channel her emotions into her work it got harder for her. She described quarantine as “Groundhog Day where there were no new influences for ideas and work.”
Artists have come out with various works and realized how everything around them is special in its own way. Even though the solitude surrounding quarantine affected many artists’ creativity, making it tough to earn a living, it still helped them comprehend what they love. For others, it was easier to be creative since there was nothing to do. These experiences really show that art will always be made through hard times no matter what.