It is important that artists’ and creative and cultural workers’ voices are present in public spaces, sharing ways of thinking and acting that are developed inside their artistic and cultural practices. They serve not only to heal and address the traumas of COVID-19 but help to start a reflection and dialogue around the vulnerabilities and social issues that this crisis brings to the light even stronger than before.
More and more artists are working independently, working project by project, or building a more local presence. A network that enables artists to connect on a personal level is a powerful support to their work, breaking through the walls of isolation and enabling ideas, knowledge and content to be shared. This sharing network enriches each member and encourages ideas to be recycled and unfold by passing through many different minds, bodies, and communities.
By developing collaborative practices for dialogue, exchange and support, we hope to develop and enable a different discourse on arts—transforming the way we work, create, and critique—while expanding our understanding of this broad network. In a context where individual success and fierce competition for an ever-shrinking labor market are constitutive of the practice of making art, are collaborative methodologies an alternative and strategy for collective care and empowerment?