In just the last few weeks, our world has seen rapid changes in light of the global pandemic of COVID-19. In response to these changes and worldwide uncertainty, the worldwide arts and cultural education community have sparked a global movement to inspire joy, catalyze action, and bring togetherness - #KeepMakingArt.
The goal of the campaign is to inspire and support youth, parent, educators, artists, and organizations to keep making art despite the tremendous circumstances we are facing worldwide. The toolkit is available here.
Global Growth
The #KeepMakingArt campaign has seen a tremendous global response in under a week, with over 150+ partners in countries on all six continents. Countries as diverse as Ghana, South Sudan, Ireland, Argentina, Spain, Australia, Egypt, and Kazakhstan are represented. The majority of partner organization (82%) are from North America, primarily the United States. Within the United States, current partners come from 36 states. Individuals and organization can join the campaign by completing this form.
Individuals are encouraged to create art, dance, music, and theatre; share it on social media using #KeepMakingArt; and follow the hashtag to be inspired by and connect with others. A great example of this type of creation was exhibited by an intergenerational group of musicians from San Diego, CA who produced a song and music video about social distancing.
Documenting Impact
According to preliminary evaluations, the daily reach of the campaign through social media - on only day 3 - is approximately 25,500 unique users. Social media participants are primarily executive leaders, educators, entrepreneurs, and artists. Tracking will continue and a report of the final campaign will be produced in the future.
The Campaign is working with Prof. Ximena Varela from American University who is collecting, documenting and analyzing artistic responses to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. To date, there are more than 100 stories shared.
Learn More
You learn more about the #KeepMakingArt campaign strategy here. Materials are available in Arabic, English, French, Mandarin, and Spanish.
This campaign is organized by Creative Generation, which works to inspire, connect, and amplify the work of individuals and organizations who are committed to cultivating the creative capacities of the next generation.