Dundee artists are joining their peers overseas to discuss the ‘curveball’ thrown by Covid-19.
Alumni and one final year undergraduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design are joining artists in South Africa and beyond to showcase artworks created during lockdown and share stories of the challenges and opportunities presented by the pandemic.
The group were given the brief to create art inspired by the theme of ‘movement’.
The event will be live-streamed by Dundee charity Front Lounge from 1-2pm on Thursday December 3.
Anyone can watch and participate by visiting
https://www.facebook.com/frontlounge.org
Who are the Dundee artists?
The UK artists are Dundee-based Jacqueline Goodall, Stephanie Dulson, Kayleigh Innes and Shona Inatimi and their friend, Manchester-based Georgina Williams.
They will be joined by Dean Laminie, Khumbulani Gobinca, Terri Groenewald and Sandile Mzimela from South Africa and Isaac Mwandidya from Malawi.
Meanwhile, the artistic process of arm-knitting will also be demonstrated throughout the event.
Fellow DJCAD graduate Jolene Guthrie of Jo-AMI, which produces collections which challenge the traditional notion of knitwear with a fun individual aesthetic, distinctive style and strong use of colour, will arm-knit a jumper throughout the hour-long session.
Jacqueline Goodall added: “Artists face challenges at the best of times but this year has been particularly tough. With our physical graduation and degree show cancelled, COVID-19 has thrown us a huge curveball and we’ve had to adapt to that.
“We’ve been hugely restricted in terms of collaborating, exhibiting and sourcing materials but, more than anything, it’s been incredibly isolating.
“Being an artist is, by its very nature, quite solitary but it’s been much harder this year with mental health badly affected across the board.
“However, there are opportunities. Many people have had more time to think out of the box, express themselves in new ways and embark on new projects.
“Naturally, we’d rather come together in real life but this event is a brilliant chance for us to meet and support like-minded artists across the world, to share our art, discuss common obstacles and plan for a brighter future before we can reunite in person.”
Jacqueline’s thoughts are echoed by Cape Town-based Dean Laminie, who Front Lounge has collaborated with in the past.
What toll have Covid restrictions taken on artists?
Dean, who specialises in mosaic art, said: “Although restrictions have now been relaxed considerably, many artists in South Africa have been heavily restricted by Covid-19 with many struggling to sustain themselves.
“During lockdown, it was our collective responsibility to isolate but that really clashed with our creative selves – being alone makes it so much worse.
“It’s easy to get stuck in your own medium so it’s more important than ever to collaborate and connect with other artists and celebrate our work.
“In South Africa, art is celebrated on the first Thursday of the month so the timing of our event seems very appropriate.
“Regardless of where we live and the restrictions placed on our movement, we are one community and can still be productive, share our work and generate business.”
The event follows an original plan for the artists to share their work in person in Dundee, plans which Front Lounge Project Leader Chika Inatimi hopes to bring to fruition next year.
