#KeepMakingArt: A Campaign to Inspire Hope and Connection

In just the last few weeks, our world has seen rapid changes in light of the global pandemic of COVID-19: schools have sent students home, cultural institutions have shut their doors; parents and educators are working from home in a new virtual space, and communities are filled with anxiety about their health and wellbeing.

Our field – the folks who’s work sits at the intersection of arts and culture, youth and community development, and social justice – has seen unprecedented losses of income, identity, and hope. However, overwhelming evidence shows the power of arts and culture to lift spirits, inspire change, and unify communities. Since the onset of COVID-19, artists and cultural organizations have been creatively responding - physically and online - to support young people, families, and communities alike.

In response to these rapid changes and worldwide uncertainty, a global movement has begun to spark joy, inspire action, and bring togetherness - #KeepMakingArt. 

Our Goal

The goal of the campaign is simple:

Inspire and support youth, educators & artists, parents, and organizations to keep making art despite the tremendous circumstances we are facing. 

Through a bit of coordination, over 200 partners from all six continents have come together in an unprecedented amount of time – only 8 days – to provide the necessary resources and support to catalytic leaders in communities around the world.

This campaign is intended to occur primarily online, the safest way to unify people with the circumstances of a global health crisis. We will be utilizing the hashtag, #KeepMakingArt, to motivate five primary audiences to create art, share their work, and follow their virtual community members.

Check out the campaign webpage here.

Campaign

The campaign, which is set to run for approximately five weeks – and likely onward through the viral participation of others – beginning today, March 24 through Friday, April 10, 2020 and onward.

It will occur in several phases: 

  • Phase 1 will bring awareness to the campaign and use of the hashtag, #KeepMakingArt

  • Phase 2 will encourage individuals and organizations to create, share, and follow through various social media platforms; and 

  • Phase 3, will drive attention towards the support and connection drawn among the community.

Over the course of a matter of weeks, we hope to cultivate deeper virtual connections among members of our global community, inspire creation and sharing of artworks and educational techniques, and encourage future participation and genuine connections among people through the arts.

You can download the full campaign calendar here. 

Audiences and Messages

The primarily messages for each of our targeted audiences are to create art (both individually and together), share with others through social media platforms, and follow peers and others to increase knowledge and learning. 

Young People – we hope they tell their stories by making art and learning through the arts.

Parents – we hope they feel empowered as at-home educators ot use the arts to build connections with school and their families

Artists – we hope they re-connect with their passion for art in a more distanced world

Educators – we hope they feel more deeply connected to their students by using artistic techniques in instruction

Cultural Organizations – we hope they connect with their communities by sharing artistic resources through social media

For each audience and message, we have constructed a helpful messaging matrix for social media managers and others who wish to strategically employ this campaign with their constituents. You can download the messaging matrix here.

Toolkit

Together, all of these elements form the toolkit, which has been developed and hosted online, powered by Creative Generation.

Here you can download the campaign calendar, messaging matrix, and graphics pack to ensure you have everything you or your organization needs to participate.

The graphics pack contains suggested images for use during every phase of the campaign. All graphics are optimized for use on social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (and Instagram stories!), and LinkedIn.

Should you wish to contribute graphic you have created, please send them to use at info@creative-generation.org.

Check out the graphics pack here.

Research & Documentation

We are collaborating with Professor Ximena Varela from American University who’s leading a project to capture the artistic response to COVID-19. Through this campaign, we hope to identify and contribute meaningful artistic responses to this data collection to effectively document this unprecedented time in history.

Her previous work focused on the aftermath of the Black Death in York in the fourteenth century, and the rise of the documented practice of arts management. The urgency of what was happening in the world almost seven centuries after those events led her to want to capture and amplify the stories of those in the front lines of arts and culture. 

Click here to share your story. 

Getting Started

Okay, are you ready to get started? If so, please follow these three simple steps:

  1. Register

  2. Follow

  3. Share