Covid 19-The new normal

At the outset the initial Covid 19 lockdown caused havoc for many people, having to adjust to a work from home situation. We’ve seen many smaller businesses having to close permanently due to financial strain, particularly with regards to staff salaries and operational costs such as office rental and other day to day business expenses.

The Art ‘world’ – Galleries, advertising agencies and design studios similarly have had to make changes to how they operate. The internet fortunately has enabled many to work remotely. Clients have cut ad-spend significantly or altogether, which has affected so many creatives due to the limited available work.

As a freelancer / fine art artist I’ve worked from my home studio for many years, so fortunately did not have to adjust to working remotely. The lockdown sees companies realising that savings can be accomplished by not renting offices if staff work remotely, so that change is a new normal. The pandemic will be with us for a long time, with many transformations still to take place. It is evident that it’s become a very digital world. I do see some advantages as we can learn from the transformations and strategise for a new MO. We need to adhere to safety requirements to flatten this curve, and hopefully we can somehow find a new better normal.