Art Residency in Covid19 Lockdown

What does it look like at Green Olive Arts?

Quiet and empty with a hope-filled dose of waiting.

Such is the status this global pandemic has forced upon the entire art residency world right now under Covid19. Many art residencies are really struggling to survive. It’s having a huge impact on the practice and plans of artists, with exhibitions off the table, galleries closed, and all travel halted. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by illness and the closure of businesses. We stand with you all during these trying times, with so many unknowns and fears and the loss of income! Living spaces have become studios and back yards a new source of inspiration. You can read some interviews with some past Green Olive Arts artists to see what they are doing in spite of these unprecedented times. But in this post, we’ll share an update on what it is like here in Tetouan, April 2020.

A Change of Plans

We had just said goodbye to another amazing cohort of artists in February 2020, when the reality of Covid19 hit. One artist even took a return flight with a “confirmed case” on board and we realized this was more serious than we’d thought.

As our understanding grew, we also saw the problem impacting artists who were scheduled to come but had to cancel. It began to dawn on us that there were some big decisions ahead for 2020! We could not make plans for art residency during Covid19 pandemic. The 5th edition of our annual Convergence residency was abruptly cancelled, much to the disappointment of all slated to come. An exciting university study abroad residency planned for June also had to be cancelled.

It seemed that we, as practicing artists ourselves, now had more time than originally planned to work on our own art at Green Olive Arts. But with stay-at-home orders being enforced, we couldn’t go out to go to work! We closed up the studios and prepared to work from home. With a couple trips to gather art supplies and field easels, we settled into home-studio mode for the foreseeable future. See more in the next post about what that looks like.

Rapid Lockdown

Morocco did an awesome job with rapidly implemented, enforced lockdown and social distancing measures, begun over a month ago. Initially, they closed all border entry points and soon after that all airports and flights. Following this, they stopped all intercity transportation, including all bus lines, trains and grand taxis. Even personal travel between cities is prohibited without an official authorization form. Next came mandatory shelter-at-home and a special “outing permission form” for one person per household to shop for groceries. With the closure of all but essential businesses, the streets were suddenly bare.

A Different Tetouan

Local shops that could remain open began re-configuring store fronts to limit proximity. Many have moved counters across the openings. Others have entirely “closed” fronts with small windows added, through which to pass requested items and payment.

Masks are now required everywhere, and stores are starting to be more particular about what ‘counts’ as a mask to be able to enter. All these things are enforced by police at key points along sidewalks and roads. They ask people to show their “outing permission paper” and answer questions about intended plans, destinations and home address.

Banks, pharmacies and utility offices have installed plexiglass walls between cashiers and customers. Social distance tape-marks on floors require people to queue up 2 meters apart. Souks, streets and plazas that are usually crowded are now mostly empty, like much of the urban world right now. The biggest change is people refraining from the ‘kisses’ and physical contact that is so much a part of greetings here. Instead, head nods, foot bumps and the common hand-over-the-heart gesture are sufficing to acknowledge greetings and affection.

Hard Times

All these measures have been mostly heeded by the population and have slowed the spread, but the numbers are still climbing. As of the writing of this post, April 27, 2020, Morocco reports over 4047 confirmed cases with 160 deaths. [May 15 update: 6625 confirmed cases & 190 deaths.] The countrywide lockdown period was recently extended (from the original April 20th date) to May 20th. The month of Ramadan has begun and the current restrictions are going to present a new series of challenges for this holiday. We’re taking things one week at a time, and hoping for relief for this land as the summer approaches.

At Green Olive Arts, we have some confidence that we will be able to weather the waiting game, at least for this year. “Incha’alla,” as they say here, meaning “God willing.” But we are aware of those around us in Tetouan and the art world in general, for whom the decisions and difficulties are hitting now. The hardest hit have been the many Moroccans supporting their families on day-to-day income in the “informal sector.” We know many facing this challenge who work in artisanal craft, small shop commerce, tourism, deliveries, factory work, hotel and restaurant businesses. Among them are some really special people who regularly partner with us in the work of hosting and inspiring artists. We are trying to stay connected with them over the distance, and we long to see them have work again.

Art Residency in Covid19 … What’s next?

… That’s the million dirham question right now, isn’t it? For this little art residency, dependent on gatherings of creatives working in close quarters, the answer is beyond our view. But we are optimistic that as the next 6-12 months unfold, we’ll see artists getting off planes and boats for artistic adventures in Tetouan. New measures to insure travel safety, new health policies, the arrival of vaccines, and artists eager to cross new cultural horizons will mean that our studios and the city of Tetouan will hopefully be buzzing again someday. We are still taking applications for 2021 and beyond … and there are even artists out there who are already applying for those spots.

See interviews with past AiRs about what they are doing now under Covid19.

Stay safe, keep creating and hang in there!