COVIDNow provides a creative open a dialogue on a post-covid world, sharing our recent pasts whilst finding the fun in the chaotic present.
Organised by local artist and poet Maya Abeysuriya and recently graduated Lancaster University student William Doe, COVIDNow focused on the post-covid world through creative peril, with a printing workshop where attendees could create art using images of iconography commonly seen through the Pandemic, such as faces wearing masks, hand sanitiser, and the classic COVID-19 particle.
As well as the printing workshop, attendees could also participate in rock painting, sewing, drawing and even impression posters.
In the lead up to the exhibition, William Doe dedicated a great deal of time to art preparations, spending the majority of his graduation week organising the exhibition. Doe also helped children and grown-ups alike at the various art stations and set up a video installation as a recap of the Pandemic.
“It’s really good to see everything all come together and people getting involved.”
WILLIAM DOE
Midway through the exhibition, the BayBeats of MoreMusic gave a wonderful performance with horns and drums, creating a lively soundscape in The Storey gardens under the summer sun. Afterwards, Maya Abeysuriya led a poetry workshop, inviting local poets, and the families in attendance, to write about their experiences during the Pandemic – an experience that has affected many creatives of the modern day.
Everyone left the exhibition with their own crafts, free stickers, and even had the opportunity to purchase some specially designed art prints. Original texture art pieces that were displayed at the exhibition were also available to purchase, each one bursting with colour and style.
Following two years of intermittent isolation, interactive art and workshops such as this exhibition are so important. Getting your hands dirty and making something when the last thing anyone was doing was being hands-on.
