Foteini Spyridakou
BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design In this industry it is often believed that there is a greater security with individuals who chose to work in big corporations rather than the ones that are self employed, but I have reasons to believe that this crisis is slowly showing us that no one really is fully safe from instability. Stability is a concept that has been on my mind quite often throughout this period of time we are experiencing. More specifically however, the lack of stability. This I believe is a concept that the creative industry has faced and struggled with since its infancy. In my experience I know that there is a running stereotype surrounding the process of becoming a creative. Often times we are told that it is a very difficult industry, which it is, with no guarantee of stability. Well at least not the same type of stability, often seen in areas much as the medical industry, or the legal domains. It makes me now question where my standing is in the future of this industry. It is now becoming clear that the world as we now know it will probably never be the same. And perhaps that is a pessimistic view to some, but that seems to be the truth of the matter as of right now. And as a student who had somewhat a plan of what the future could look like, I am now left to consider that perhaps everything I thought would transpire, no longer has the possibility of coming to fruition. I remember a specific conversation I overheard during one of the days I had gone into the office. I remember that there was a news broadcast in the background, Boris Johnson was addressing the nation and everyone was glued to the screen. One of the women somewhere behind me voiced her concern about what would happen with her kid’s school. Would they cancel the year? Would they have to pay for another year of private school? I remember thinking to myself how odd that was. In my mind that was such an insignificant thing to worry about. Personally the first thing I would want as a parent would be to have my child as far away from a school as possible. Especially when the casualties where still very few in the UK. But the statement that followed awoke me from my naive thoughts. One of her co-workers told her that the possibility that they would cancel the entire year and have kids start it over was quite possible. She shied and stated, “I don’t know if I will have a job till then.” Then I realized just how little I really knew. It was scary to hear an adult say that. Although I am an adult myself, I am not yet at the stage where I have to worry about taking care of someone else let alone of helping support a household. In my mind the naive thoughts were justified, but in reality they were just that, naive thoughts. I don't have children, in reality I'm still much of a child myself, the most I have to worry about is house bills and working towards finishing my degree. But what if I was this woman that I had jumped to judge, what would my worries look like? What do so many people out there have to deal with? The sacrifices they have to make? It made me realize how lucky I am. I have just started to dip my toe into the harsh realities of the world. If in my young age I was scared about my future, to hear adults, with established careers, corporate jobs, which are often seen as the ideal, fear the unknown was oddly unsettling. It made me thinking of what real consequences this pandemic will have not only in the creative industry, but in society as a whole. Myself like many others have had an idea in our minds I’m sure, when we took the leap to join academia. Usually life has a predictable cycle, go to university, get a degree, find a job, maybe do a master, start your career, etc. And then you think about starting a family, affording a home, looking into retirement. Now though, with the amount of uncertainty these plans seem distant. Almost unreachable. I find myself thinking if its even worth completing my degree, will I be wasting too much time, is it even worth to do a masters, what qualifications will we even need to have when the world returns to normal? What will even be normal? All valid concerns, which I know are also shared among my peers. Even now there is uncertainty in regards to how they navigate their education through a screen, away from studios and valued facilities needed to create their desired outcomes. And although personally I know that I will finish my degree, I spent too much time, blood, sweat, and countless tears to back out now, I also feel for my peers that have to consider this reality. However in instability and chaos there always seem to be a glimmer of hope in our fellow creatives. Especially in times like these. It is very touching and admirable to see how quickly creatives have jumped on the challenge to create solutions to larger and hard problems. We have been hearing stories in the news of Cristian Fracassi and Alessandro Romaioli, two Italian based engineers, making ventilator masks from common snorkeling equipment. (Tidman (2020)) An Italian 3D company producing over 100 needed parts for ventilators to assist hospitals that were running out of supplies. (Cockburn (2020)) Students in the UK and the US requesting to use school 3D printers to print protective mask bands, for hospitals and medical staff when supplies are diminishing. Individuals such as the likes of Michelle Obama and Dolly Parton are reading bedtime stories for children through platforms like YouTube. Musicians are putting on concerts from their balconies, celebrities doing live shows from their homes. Although most of us are stuck at home we haven't lost our spark. We are still creating, we are still giving, we are still needed and we will always be needed. At the end of the day people will always need music to sooth them, animation to entertain them, a poster to inform them, a product to assist them, a movie to uplift them, cartoonists to humor them. We will bounce back. There can also be other benefits regarding family dynamics once the pandemic is over. Personally as I child who grew up with a parent that was primarily away due to work, I could see this being to some extent beneficial. Perhaps the industry will come to a quicker balance in regards to prioritizing specific work endeavors over others, and potentially remove the stress from a lot of families like mine in regards to frequent travel and distance. But as this might be positive in some regards it can also have a lot of negatives, in regards to other industries such as Aviation who relies on business men and women traveling. What would happen to those families? It is not a simple challenge that can be addressed over night. And I also don’t truly believe that one is more sustainable than the other. Perhaps this pandemic will help us consider what the middle ground in regard to this issue can be. This pandemic will also probably bring about new opportunities, as more and more countries and businesses are rapidly moving to digital media in order to stay in contact. When before technology was accumulating steadily it has now become one of our primary resources to stay connected, and this might bring about a new wave of innovation in regards to 3D Technology, augmented reality, animation, etc. which we have never seen before. New opportunities that we have yet to imagine. Personally I don't know what the future holds. I don't think any of us do, not anymore. We have reached a level of unpredictability that I doubt any of us have ever seen in our lifetimes. What I do know, however, is that there will always be room for the creative industry to flourish. We might be struggling right now, but we have the advantage of not struggling alone. And we will still be as needed, if not more when hopefully this is all over. The only challenge that remains for all of us is how to bridge, from an income standpoint, today with tomorrow. And this will be a rather big issue for those who have serious financial obligations (mortgage, loans, kids that need to be fed etc), and can’t afford to see their current income diminish... Bibliography Cockburn, H. (2020) Coronavirus: 3D printers used to supply hospital with life-saving respirator valves. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/coronavirus-3d-printing-respirators-supply-hospitals-italy-covid-19-a9408961.html (Accessed: 16 April 2020). Tidman, Z. (2020) Italian engineers use snorkelling masks to make equipment for ventilators. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/coronavirus-ventilators-snorkelling-masks-brescia-italy-engineers-a9420916.html (Accessed:16 April 2020).
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