Creative Pivoting In A Pandemic For Tri-Valley Arts Organizations

Artists have been severely impacted by the cancellation of in-person events due to Covid-19 and are pivoting to online events and fostering novel collaborations to keep the arts alive.

Several Tri-Valley Arts events have taken on new forms and for the first time , Pleasanton Art League (PAL) , Livermore Art Association (LAA) and the Dublin Arts Collective (DAC) are jointly hosting an online general meeting in November called "Zooming Forward".

PAL President Beth Okurowski initiated an online technology brainstorming group to discuss ways in which local artists can leverage online resources to support their work and be an active part of this important and transformative time. “This is a large topic that can go in many directions right now, so we thought we would start by sharing visions, ideas, examples, successes, and possible pitfalls. We are now beginning to put a structure in place and set some goals” said Beth. “ There’s a lot to consider and learn, so we were pleased to get started and see where it leads us. It’s exciting to think about all the innovative things we can do, and how we can extend our reach and connect to a larger audience.”

Consequently LAA Vice President Christine Watters initiated a sub-working group specifically to explore online technology options that are affordable and accessible to the nonprofit sector and to plan a way forward to engage the arts community with what is practically feasible.

Thanks to the efforts of DAC President Sawsan Wolski, a sponsorship was acquired for Zoom from Keypoint Credit Union's Dublin branch which will now be used to host the “Zooming Forward” General Meeting for all three nonprofits.

Pleasanton Art League has already successfully completed their annual Paint Pleasanton event and artworks can be viewed online. Organizer, Lorraine Heath Wells, said she was pleased with the response from artists to the new format and that the transition was well tolerated. Submissions for Paint Pleasanton are still viewable online.

The popular annual Livermore ArtWalk hosted by Anne Giancola, Visual Arts Manager at the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center, was the first opportunity for many artists to display their work publicly since the start of lockdown. The event reduced its footprint and was named “ArtWalk Light” offering more space between vendors and limited advertising to ensure visitors had adequate space to social distance. “It was a delicate balance” said Anne, “we needed enough participation to make the event worthwhile for the artists showing their work but limited attendance to ensure public safety and meet the guidelines set by City and County health protocols.”

The City of Dublin also used a novel approach by arranging a Public Art Challenge so participants earned points for taking photos with public artworks and were given a few months to do so. They also hosted an online auction and successfully sold all the Adirondack Chairs decorated by local artists as part of the Chair to Remember project.

“We would like to excite the arts community about the upcoming Cultural Arts Center in Dublin,” said DAC President and Arts Commissioner Sawsan Wolski “and keep giving creativity a platform, the arts is an essential respite in these challenging times.”

The DAC was hosting the first Dublin group participating in the East Bay Open Studios (EBOS) event which has now also moved into the hybrid space and a searchable online catalogue of artists has been made available which includes the artists participating from the Tri-Valley area. The EBOS will be running for three weekends in November and the majority of the artists will be displaying virtually while a few are having in-person studio visits.

At the latest online Zoomtopia conference for Zoom users it was anticipated that the world of work will move to hybrid systems even after the pandemic given that people have adapted to working from home and enjoy the flexibility it offers. The Zoom platform is therefore increasing functionality to include “Zapps” or zoom apps and video previews in waiting rooms as an added security feature. The reactions feature is also set to expand giving users a broader range of responses to content shared in zoom meetings.

The collaborative approach by the three arts nonprofits is set to continue with smaller interests groups based on specific needs. To introduce the idea the “Zooming Forward” event will include a practical demo by artist Meghana Mitragotri who has been leading online watercolor workshops and also had a display at ArtWalk Light. “ I have been very practical in my approach and I would like to share what I have learned to make the process less intimidating to other artists who would like to give it a try.”

For further information about “Zooming forward” email programs@livermoreart.org