By Wendy Ongáre, PAWA254
There exists a vast documented history of pandemics. They have no geographical borders and cultural divide. They are chaotic and traumatic life-altering events that overwhelmingly touch every aspect of human life, altering social, economic, and political stability.
Artists are known to create even under the riskiest and untimely circumstances such as poverty, under repressive regimes, and in prison. In whatever form, art goes on and there is more demand for it from those who want to be amused, consoled, looking for a community, and those who want to be heard. These periods of hardship indelibly influence art and most importantly reveal the endless possibilities of art.
Due to Covid-19, across the world by March 2020, most cultural institutions experienced indefinite closure; exhibitions, events, and performances were canceled or postponed. With audiences isolating at home and artists’ paychecks melting away, the arts industry that typically operates almost exclusively from public spaces is tenaciously re-inventing itself online; with impromptu concerts performed from apartment balconies and live-streamed concerts from homes with audiences quick to show their appreciation with a deluge of likes, shares and comments. It is apparent that the need to create art is as powerful as the need to consume it.
The role art plays in a pandemic constitutes ensuring there is visibility of vital knowledge. This was evident in the AIDS pandemic of the 1980s and 1990s. The 1831–1832 cholera pandemic associated with high mortality rates, appeared to be an inappropriate topic for cartoonists, but its arrival at Sunderland in October of 1831 provided an opportunity for satirists to excel. They highlighted the disagreement between doctors on the diagnosis and treatment of cholera, public mistrust of the medical profession and their ineffective treatment, and political attacks on government policies.
Music has always brought people together. Throughout history, it has held social movements together and kept them alive even when all hope would have otherwise been lost especially in difficult times. Songs are currently positively impacting neighbors in Italy; no wonder, considering numerous studies have shown that music can be a powerful neurological tool. Humor can also play a significant role in aiding communities to cope with the fear of disease and death; a case in point is the art associated with the 19th-century cholera pandemic.
As Covid-19 forces us to endure an unprecedented time of distant social contact, art can remind and assure us of our interconnectedness. In the end, we will all have our own metaphors and images to make meaning of this time.
