In early 2020 many of us were asked and recommended by Health Officials to isolate in our homes in an attempt to support health care workers and prevent the spread of COVID 19 into our communities. Our lives have taken a dramatic turn and newly adopted social distancing lifestyles look and feel very different than the lives we were leading prior to the global pandemic.
We acknowledge every (indoor) life has a story to tell, and MOV wants to hear yours. In an effort to learn how you adapted to the limitations and opportunities of quarantine existence the museum would like to see, read and hear your stories, testimonies, performances, art and confessions of your new reality. Share with us your videos, writings and performances on Instagram and Twitter by including the hashtag #IsolatingTogetherMOV or join our Facebook Group and post your stories on there. MOV will post your submissions to this web page where your submissions will live beside others in the Greater Vancouver Regional District!
Have you become attached to a new object which just last month seemed insignificant in your household? What kind of activities are you finding yourself participating in now that you are physically distancing from your friends, family and communities? Have you learned a new skill? A new language? A new musical instrument? Have you recently considered a person, an object an aspiration you might not take for granted in a post Covid – 19 world? Videos, pictures, writings and art are all welcome as we isolate together in this new virtual environment. Your submission will be accessioned into MOV’s virtual database and may be used for a future project such as a small exhibition, lobby projection or learning tool in our education department. We are looking forward to your submissions!
#IsolatingTogetherMOV - SFU SIAT Student Short films
Since 2015, the Museum of Vancouver has worked with Dr. Kate Hennessy at Simon Fraser University’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology and students in the class Moving Images (IAT 344) to develop their video and documentary skills by creating high quality media for inclusion in the MOV's award-winning museum exhibitions.
#IsolatingTogetherMOV was a new challenge, as students still had the exciting opportunity to learn from the curators at MOV, to connect with members of our community, and to produce work for inclusion in an exhibition that will be seen by large numbers of museum visitors. But the course by necessity had to be completely revised for distance learning and supporting physical distancing.
The films are now available to view in the #IsolatingTogetherMOV playlist on our Youtube Channel. Below are a small selection of the student’s short films from the 2022 Spring Semester.
Stories of Isolation and Connection
Killarney Honour Strings - Masked Epic
Masked Epic is a 5-part wed series documentary following the Killarney Honour Strings in their pursuit of meaningful musical experience despite the incredible logistical obstacles of covid protocols. Forced to complete their 10-month course in just 10-weeks, remote learning for half of those weeks, the orchestra split into two parallel cohorts, not playing for nearly a year, physical distancing and masks - the course was not supposed to be epic. Yet, these young musicians set forth to make this 10-week journey something special. Award winning film maker, Le Nouveau-Pauvre (lenouveaupauvre.net) takes us on an intimate journey and masterfully tells the story of how these young musicians experience the unprecedented task ahead of them.
Beauty and the Beast. What Lies on the Streets of Lockdown. (Jennifer Hammersmark)
It was important for me to go explore our city centre during quarantine, while it was still uncharacteristically quiet. Today was the day, before it’s too late. I live in a suburb about an hour away, and I have heard that the city on quarantine was a must-see. What does a typically vibrant city look like during a pandemic? Let’s find out, because it won’t last long.
As I wrote about recently in The Gift of Time, I believe it will be all too soon when Covid-19 is a distant memory and we are back to ‘normal’ — a normal of busyness and crowds and stress and traffic. So off I go to discover the abnormal.
Boy, was it.
The Magnitude of it All (Jennifer Hammersmark)
We all have our breaking point. Today was mine. As a mother, a wife, a business owner, and generally a caring human being, today I crumble under the enormity of the situation we all find ourselves in.
F*** Covid.
Today I don’t want to deal with this stupid situation any longer. The responsibility and the pressure it inflicts on all of us is quite frankly, just too much. How are we supposed to keep ourselves and those we care about safe? How are we supposed to get up each morning and function normally?
In the Pandemic, ‘Gain Wah’ Keeps Dishing Out Chinatown Classics
You can’t have Chinatown without Chinese food. In Vancouver’s historic neighbourhood, there’s the tourist, looking for a bite of culture. There are politicians like Justin Trudeau, looking for a place to campaign. There’s the immigrant senior, looking for familiar food. There’s the resident from the Downtown Eastside, looking for something hot, affordable and a place to sit. But in a pandemic, how are Chinatown’s eateries faring?
In this series, The Tyee brings you inside the doors of three longtime favourites.
The New Saturday Night
33 photographers show us the world on the weekend. A photo essay by New York Times writer, Amanda Hess.
New Orleans sees groups uniting to help keep spirits up
New Orleans has been one of the hot spots of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, with more than 6,000 infections. But, while front-line healthcare workers are overwhelmed and business is suffering, the community has banded together to keep the city's spirit alive.
Al Jazeera's Heidi Zhou-Castro has more.
Japanese aquarium urges public to video-chat eels who are forgetting humans exist
When the garden eels at a Tokyo aquarium remove their heads from the sand, they are usually confronted by pairs of human eyes staring back at them through the glass.
But like other animals around the world, the eels at Sumida Aquarium are finding their environment transformed by the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
#MAKEARTWHILEAPART
Vancouver Mural Festival is partnering with a number of local businesses and Business Improvement Associations to support local artists while bringing hope and positivity to the streets in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. With boarded up windows becoming an increasingly common occurrence in neighbourhoods across the city, VMF enlisted a large group of its alumni and other local artists to donate temporary mural work to these locations.
Working out from home: athletes find creative ways to train – in pictures
As the coronavirus lockdown extends around the world, athletes continue to find resourceful ways to train and stay fit at home.
Give a Hand Mural Program
The city is supporting the creation of murals on temporary boarding that have been installed on commercial storefronts as a result of closures related to COVID-19. This particular story focuses on the DTES initiative aimed at communicating the dangers of the pandemic to the city's most vulnerable residents, many of whom have no access to internet.
Dana Jay Bein’s Coronavirus Rhapsody - Phoenix Chamber Choir
On Tuesday, March 17th Phoenix decided to cancel the rest of our 2019-2020 season, in order to protect the health and safety of our singers and audience members; but that doesn’t mean that we’ve stopped making music together!
This past weekend, a group of our singers put together our own parody version of Bohemian Rhapsody, with lyrics adapted from Dana Jay Bein’s Coronavirus Rhapsody.
GET DOWN WITH THE LOCKDOWN - Facebook Group
GET DOWN WITH THE LOCK DOWN is a positive Arts and Entertainment sharing space. An opportunity to have fun and put the “social” back in social media. What can you expect? This global page will boast artists of all styles, via live videos, visual posts and written word sharing.
Carolyn Mark's Virtual Hootenanny
Virtual live curated concerts comprised of performances from artists situated across Canada. A virtual extension of a (in) real life series Victoria's Carolyn Mark has hosted for well over 10 years.
Australians Who Leave House Only To Take Out Trash Have Started Dressing In Costumes To Do it
If you are following the rules of the COVID-19 quarantine responsibly, you probably only leave your house when you really have to. Quickly, people began to realize that the only time they can enjoy a little bit of fresh air guilt-free is when they are taking out the trash. To honor this precious moment, a handful of Australians decided to properly dress up when they are handling their bins and crated a Facebook group Bin Isolation Outing. Featured below are the funniest examples.
Incredible drone footage of world cities, emptied of people and traffic during global lockdown
via @AirVuz
Portraits of Our Self-Isolation - Amy Romer (The Tyee)
As society strives to “flatten the curve” on coronavirus disease (COVID-19), isolation has become a new reality for many, which presents unique challenges for each individual. Perhaps you live alone and must rely on neighbours for help with groceries, or you’re avoiding roommates as you practice physical distancing. As a journalist, I became interested in the questions surrounding isolation: What’s it like? How are you coping? What are you doing? I began finding people living in self-isolation via social media. I asked if they would speak with me on FaceTime, and allow me to make a portrait of them from outside their window.
