Collette Farrell, Droichead Arts Centre
In thinking about this question, I decided to break my answer into two parts, my work and my personal life.
As somebody who has worked in live arts for over 30 years, it is very strange running an arts centre , where people and artists normally come together and connect, share in a communal ritual of performance or exhibitions, a shared space, now we are trying to connect remotely. So for somebody who only set up a twitter account 3 years ago, and who doesn’t have a facebook account, to move into a world of producing and commissioning art for online and other platforms, is a completely new departure.
How to support artists at this time is a big thing on my mind. Like many other sectors, so many artists in all disciplines lost their income overnight, and the impact of this is long term, as who knows when arts centres can open again.
Then there are our audiences for Droichead, who are so loyal, who have signed up to our theatre and film clubs, who support our visual arts, music and family programmes.. how to still be here for them, whilst recognising not everybody wants to be online at this moment in time.
Personally, I have never made so much soup! So being 24/7 with my family is interesting. Do I have the work life balance , no , and I don’t think I ever will. But we are spending time talking more, board games are coming out, we are doing the garden, and the house will look great after this. ( my poor husband). Being kind is also on my mind, I find myself not getting so annoyed at the little things, and thinking of community, the elderly neighbour across the road, Mary, who I now talk to more than ever. very much we actually have and the true value of human connection’.
I think that sums up how Covid-19 has affected me, both personally and professionally.
We have seen the best side of Social Media.
It has helped our work at The Genesis Programme continue, differently, but continue nonetheless.
We have seen a huge increase in people following our Social Media and engaging with us. We have used it to launch and run Genesis Got Talent.
This has achieved what we hoped it would on a social and emotional level.
We have seen young and old sing, dance, tell jokes, play music, do handstands and so much more. Things we often take for granted but things we all could still do. It has been a joyous initiative. It has made me love life and people in a different way. People opened their doors and hearts, turned their cameras on and shared joy, pure joy.
At home, I have loved how the days run into each other. The time we have spent together as a family that we would never have if there were no lockdown. No rushing to football training or a match, no hoping to beat the traffic on a morning run to a Dublin meeting. Rock up to the kitchen table at 8.59am in a shirt and tracksuit bottoms and Zoom – meeting starts! Decisions are made quicker too. I think that is something we will all look at when this is over – meeting through video. Yes, of course it is good to meet up but when people in different forms of dishevelment arrive from Cork, Limerick, Louth and all over Dublin for a meeting in Dublin city centre at 10am on a Monday, we will know there is a different way, a better way.
Yes, I have a different outlook on life now and for sure, when the dust settles.