Scenes from Quarantine, a Harrison Center Social Distance Art Initiative.
Hoosiers are hunkering down.
We staying home and staying put.
Logo, Molly Kelley
What is Scenes from Quarantine?
Artists have a unique way of seeing the world, and making art ourselves helps us to look closer and feel deeper. To think through this as a community and provide opportunity for artists, we started Scenes from Quarantine. Every day, we commission a Harrison Center artist or community member to lead us in a prompt of a scene from our everyday lives in quarantine. Their piece and short caption are posted to our social media, and we collect community responses. We are asking questions like, “What has become a big part of our lives that once was insignificant” “What do we spend a lot of time looking at and consuming” and “How have our values shifted since this started?” We hope this series is a chance for us to really look at and record this totally strange shift in our surroundings, to act as a visual diary of sorts. We hope you will join us!
Self-Portrait in Quarantine, Tom Day
How does this change affect us?
Our daily lives have changed drastically and quickly. At the Harrison Center, we are passionate about supporting artists and creating community, but it’s hard to have gallery shows and host events during times of social distancing. We have been working hard to find ways to encourage creativity and community, while simultaneously processing the dramatic changes we are experiencing as a community.
The Home Alone Camera Club, by Kipp Normand.
Why does our environment matter?
We believe our external environment and aesthetics actually have a great impact on our lives. Going to work or school creates relationships with coworkers and classmates, and the way these places are designed affect the culture of that place. Think about the front porch! Many of you have joined us every day for social distance porching at 5 pm. In this way, the porch is a cultural good that is used to create community. By social distancing, we are respecting our neighbors by not spreading germs, but we recognize that in the process, we are losing many of our routines and much-needed time with other people. It’s this change in environment, and the effect it has on our lives, that we are curious about.
How to be involved.
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @harrisoncenterarts to find the daily prompt, and tag us with your responses! Don’t forget to hashtag #ScenesFromQuarantine. Tagging us will allow us to repost your work and enter you to win a prize! After quarantine is over, we are planning on hosting a “Scenes from Quarantine” show with pieces both from our artists and the community.
This can be a difficult time for artists. If you would like to help support our artists, you can sponsor a sketch for $50 (all funds will go directly to the artist)! Email Moriah Miller at mmiller@harrisoncenter.org to sponsor, ask questions, or find out how to be involved.
There is so much we do not know, but making art about this time can help us process our external environment and create a record of this unique shared experience.