CoronArt – Art in the Time of Corona

Abstract

Art and arts education did not escape the serious challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns. The pandemic and its consequences, whether we want it or not, will directly and indirectly influence the themes of contemporary art and of visual/artistic courses, influencing both creator and product, and appear as part of projects and processes. Moreover they can trigger artistic progress and inspire it, since we all were (and remain) part of the same event. Creative work became a possible way of coping with the crisis, with enforced rest being transformed into time for creativity, suppressed energies channelled into creative activities, the novel emotions and anxieties of the unprecedented global pandemic expressed through it, and alleviation of the feelings of isolation and limitations through the freedom of the imagination, freeing visions that offer distraction from reality, as well as abstract ideas and, wherever possible, humour. Proof of this comes from this lively selection including recent artistic phenomena, art works, and art courses (at the Department of Visual Education of the Faculty of Primary and Pre-School Education of Eötvös Loránd University), born of reflections on the unusual circumstances and a variety of creative approaches.