Long Distance Art, which launched [in May 2020], is an international, multidisciplinary collaborative art series with The Social Distancing Festival. Artists can inquire about collaborating with another artist they’ve seen on the site, or have the creator [Nick Green] pair them up with another artist of his choosing.
“My dream is to hear the story of two artists that have met through my site and collaborate on some really profound piece of art,” Green told The World in March. His site aggregates content from artists whose performances have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. “And they live across the world and never would have met, otherwise.”
Artists can contact Green and inquire about collaborating with another artist they’ve seen on the site, or have Green pair them with another artist of his choosing. There is no cost to the artists.
“For online art, I’ve become a matchmaker,” he joked. “I don’t want to be too instructive. So for the most part, I tell [the collaborators], ‘You two are brilliant artists. Go. Do whatever. I’m happy with anything you come up with.’”
Green’s matchmaking magic has recently connected a team of Canadian musicians with a dancer in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Barbara Johnston, a member of the Toronto-based composing team alongside Anika Johnson and Suzy Wilde, was contacted by Green and immediately thought the idea was “the most exciting thing possible in the world.” Once paired with Tanzanian dancer Tadhi Alawi, Johnston’s team got to work.
The final product of the collaboration is a video showing Alawi dancing to Wild Heart, a song composed by Johnston and her team. It’s a partnership unlike any Johnston’s been a part of, she said, but one she wants to explore more.
Johnston said she was amazed the nearly 8,000-mile distance between Tanzania and Toronto felt so small.
The Long Distance Art series lives online for now, with many artists working in their apartments and childhood homes instead of their studios and theaters. Though the past week has revealed glimpses of a post-lockdown world as some countries begin reopening businesses, public parks, and schools, experts suggest it will take years for the economy to return to what it once was. Theaters, museums and venues — reliant on crowds of people — are also among those expected to stay closed long after restaurants, schools, and small businesses open again.
But as venue doors remain closed, laptop computers remain open. Green said his aspirations for The Social Distancing Festival and The Long Distance Art series aren’t canceled — but they need funds to sustain themselves.
“A dream of mine is that there might be someone or an organization out there who sees that this is the artistic embodiment of connecting people across the world and global conversations about humanity and lived experiences,” Green said. “And they might say, ‘Hey, you know, that aligns really well with what we, as an organization, are doing. Why don’t we put some money into this? Why don’t we fund some of these artists or somehow buy one of the works?’”
ANALYSIS
While it may seem like the current COVID-19 pandemic has shut down many doors for many individuals, it is hopeful to see initiatives like The Social Distancing Festival opening doors for art-makers and providing context for opportunities that may not have been as apparent before. It is shallow minded to think that artists have ample opportunity to dive deeper into their discipline in the socially distanced world. For some, without venue or a place to present their art, their commissions and income have been blocked, forcing them to look for other ways to remain financially stable. It is apparent that these individuals need new platforms to showcase and sell their work.
The Social Distancing Festival has shown that not only are there new platforms for artists developing, but it has made light of collaboration possibilities that in the past may not have had attention. For example, musicians from North America and a dancer from Tanzania. This has helped to highlight the artful possibilities that artists can take advantage of by collaborating with artists outside of their discipline, and even outside of their continent. It has shown the internet’s viability in facilitating the networking for endeavors like this.
