Centre • Bath
Four positive creative briefs which need YOU during the COVID-19 pandemic
Is it just us, or has the novelty of lockdown well and truly worn off? Between the anxiety and involuntary adjustments we’ve had to make to our own lives, it’s been the stories of collective community which have kept us buoyant in these choppy and unnerving seas. From creating artworks on sought-after canvases for charity to country-wide appreciation for our carers on a tear-jerking scale, free tips for taming your mane on twitter and Jacinda Arden’s reassurance that the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny count as essential workers; human resilience, intuition and empathy in times of hardship is really something worth taking a moment to marvel over.
While we continue observing social distancing guidelines and do our bit to help stop the spread of the virus, there’s no reason we creatives can’t stay positive, motivated and productive. Whether you, like many others, are experiencing a slump in your work, or want to put your skills to work regardless of your schedule, we’ve scoured the web for brilliant creative briefs you can get stuck into during the COVID-19 pandemic, from Bristol and beyond…
Life on Hold
This one’s straight out of Bristol, so naturally, we’re putting it top of the list. A not-for-profit initiative launched by local Bristol agencies Hey! What? and Duchess Media – who just so happen to be based within waving distance of Gather Round in Bristol’s legendary Tobacco Factory – Life on Hold recognises while plenty of creatives are holing themselves up in their houses, there are others who have to go out and work on the frontline effort against the crisis.
The initiative encourages creatives of all abilities to download the art produced by the key artists on the project and ‘remix’ it to create your own. Whether you work in design, animation, illustration, music or art, you can get involved, and help Life on Hold raise their target of £10’000 to support the NHS and the mental health charity Mind during the pandemic. Each key artist will select their favourite three remixes of their original artwork, which will be entered into a prize draw.
To get involved, you can find more information and the brief at Life on Hold. Don’t forget to register to take part before Friday 17th April.
Inside Voices
After seeing a significant drop in new campaigns being launched on their platform after the virus hit, Kickstarter decided to launch its initiative Inside Voices. The premise? Launch a project which you can plan, run and complete all from the comfort of your own home. Their prompts to get your creative juices flowing include: recording a demo, creating a zine, or producing a podcast where you play every character.
Their only request is that the project must be completed in its entirety in your home, and rewards of funding are kept small: to a Zoom performance or a copy of the zine, for example.
Read Kickstarter’s Open Call to creatives at Inside Voices. There’s no deadline on this one, but don’t leave it long!
Stay Sane Stay Safe
A collaboration launched by design studio Lennarts & De Bruijn and writer and translator Overdeschreef, both Dutch, Stay Safe Stay Sane is a poster design project. This one’s been running for a couple of weeks now and they’ve already received 1100 contributions from 73 countries at the time of publishing.
The brief prompts creatives to develop poster designs which encourage people to stay at home: a simple act, proven to be the single, most effective way we can support health workers in their fight against the virus on the frontline. The Stay Safe Stay Sane project has already started printing posters to display around the Netherlands, but haven’t ruled out printing for display in other nations too.
Find all the information you need to create and submit your poster design at Stay Sane Stay Safe.
donate:code
One for the developers and designers: how about writing code to support businesses and initiatives through the crisis? donate:code is a platform which matches technically-talented creatives with good causes, and at the moment they’ve got plenty of projects related to supporting businesses and charities through the crisis.
It doesn’t take a moment to create a profile and sign up as a volunteer. Apply to the projects which you can support with your skills, and the project manager will get back to you with more details of the project.
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How about that for some creative inspiration? We hope one or two of these projects has spawned some new ideas, and have given you fresh motivation to put your creativity to work while working from home.
