Are Winnipeg artists being taken care of with isolation?
By: Carter Reznik
Isolation has proven to be difficult for many artists around the city, and some of whom deal with struggle while others thrive with the opportunity to put their head down and focus.
Winnipeg grew to a nine per cent positivity rate for those being tested for Covid 19. With these high numbers, Winnipeg residents are being ordered to stay home and reduce contacts.
As the world stands still, some artists are struggling to keep up.
“At the start of Covid, I stopped and cancelled any upcoming sessions I had,” said Madison Rey, a local Winnipeg photographer.
Deaths in Manitoba due to Covid-19 are climbing. Code Red for the city of Winnipeg is in effect and citizens are seeing more businesses close due to lack of foot traffic.
Some businesses have switched to an e-commerce business model to help pull in sales and to deliver goods and services to stay afloat.
Tayler Buss is a local Winnipeg artist studying fine arts at the University of Manitoba. Last month she finished the erection of her outdoor COVID-Friendly art installation at 211 Pacific Ave.
“At first, the initial lockdown in March made me feel very uninspired. I felt very trapped and limited with what I could make,” said Buss.
“I think as an emerging artist, it’s hard to find opportunities even without a pandemic. But, since everything is online now, opportunities for submitting work seem a lot more accessible.”
Government Manitoba released a “Care for your Mental Health” article to help Manitobans deal with mental health struggles.
“It’s hard to stay focused on your work when there’s other stresses. I think many artists are feeling emotionally exhausted because of a forced isolation and just having to process changes from a pandemic,” said Buss.
Now, on creativemanitoba.ca there are five ongoing submissions for artists, all within reach via Wifi.
