In Seattle and Texas, art has flourished throughout isolation, with creative messages of hope and inspiration popping up in some of the most unexpected of places.
While Seattle’s trendy eateries and famous live music venues remain on lockdown due to the massive impacts of COVID-19 on Washington state, the city’s local artists have unleashed their creativity in another medium.
In a show of hope and solidarity, local artists have transformed boarded-up shopfronts into colourful works of art.
What used to be their much-loved local haunts now display messages like “It’s okay to slow down”, “Wish you were here” and “I’ll see you soon! … better than it’s ever been”, showcasing their allegiance to the community’s #WeGotThisSeattle movement.
While in Texas, local artists Hillerbrand+Magsamen, whose latest installation at Big Medium Gallery in Austin had to be rescheduled due to the COVID-19 lockdown across the state, have come up with a way for people to create their own art galleries while staying home.
To show support for the gallery and keep it open and active (virtually), the duo has launched a new project, ‘Tiny Big Medium’, inviting their community of followers to create and exhibit their own artwork in a tiny paper version of the Big Medium gallery.
Artists and novices alike can download, print out and fold up a paper version of the gallery and add their own unique art.
So far, people have created galleries featuring small paintings, chopstick sculptures and even an installation of Pokémon figurines.
Featured image: Mural at Frame Central in Capitol Hill by Malt Bizney and Carlos Aguilar (GTI Tourism/@ksra_ksra and @theydrift)
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