A Comparative Analysis of Creative Collaboration within the Arts during Covid-19.
At the beginning of the academic year, the idea of conducting an autoethnographic research project appealed to me for a couple of reasons: the first being that there was little academic writing on the impact of Covid-19 upon creative collaboration within the arts at the time, and the second aspect being that the qualitative characteristics of autoethnographic research would fit in well with my research aims, enabling an outcome high in validity.[1]As time has gone on, I have become increasingly aware that, although documenting my own process of creative collaboration whilst socially distancing is key to this project, it would also be worthwhile to include a comparative analysis of other artists and collectives to examine how they have been coping with forms of creative collaboration during the pandemic. This blog post will be an analysis of two separate interviews I conducted in early April 2021, the first being with Vicky Storey PhD, Creative Director and practitioner at Chol Theatre, and upcoming musician Ollie Tait, known under the pseudonym Potaito.[2],[3]
Chol Theatre is a theatre and arts company based in Yorkshire, but with a much larger outreach. Its mission is to make art more accessible for all, by working with disadvantaged children and communities; to inspire creativity and collaboration through workshops, theatre productions, community projects and much more. Since the beginning of Lockdown, Chol have led over a hundred performances, events and workshops, strengthening old and forming new relationships. In my interview with Dr Storey, we talked about how shifting to remote working has forced change upon the company, altering everyday forms of communication, creativity and planning.
Before the pandemic Dr Storey told me that it was common for the company to form new partnerships “out [in] the field” – be it in libraries, community centres or schools during events that they have curated and set up.[4] These events created a space in which people could come together to tell their own stories, so strengthening bonds and understanding within communities. This is the “essence” of Chol and encourages a lively network full of creativity.[5] The impact of social distancing has resulted in events like this not being able to take place, so Chol have found that they have had to be much more reliant upon their closest existing partnerships (such as the Children’s Art School and EvoKe) to help support one another in the uncertainty of the pandemic.
We’ve become so much stronger I think because we’ve had to come together, and we’ve had to think really carefully about going forward, and how we’re going to survive. [6]
Dr Storey has also noted upon how Zoom has offered greater accessibility to networks and events, and how it is being used as a tool for establishing new partnerships. In being able to access meetings from home, it has opened the door for more opportunities for the formation of new partnerships as more people are able to attend online events. Despite seeing the benefits from working remotely, Dr Storey also noted upon how this shift has resulted in Chol having to change many of its decision-making processes, making planning events and productions a lot more challenging:
“Usually, in the office we would be able to like do things really physically. We would have pieces of paper, and we would make big plans and we would move things around. …[With] a few of us on Zoom, doing a production schedule and a rehearsal schedule and trying to piece scenes together, I think you end up working in isolation more.”[7]
This disconnect can also sometimes be seen in workshops, where, especially when working with young people and children, working online can hinder the nurturing relationship Chol creates. In not being able to be in the same physical space of the participants, it becomes harder to read a room to evaluate how everyone is getting on, but also to reach out to those children to help them. Despite Chol’s workshops still producing ‘great creative output’ from those involved, Dr Storey is becoming increasingly aware of a fatigue beginning to develop within workshops. [8]
Potaito is an upcoming hip-hop beatmaker and producer in the North East, having graduated from his Popular Music Studies Degree at Newcastle University in May 2020, he has started to utilise social media for networking and learning opportunities alongside increasing supporters of his music.
As a live performer, the closure of music venues during Lockdown has cut off access to many typical networking and performance opportunities for Potatio. In no longer being able to access standard streams of networking and partnership opportunities within the music industry, Potatio has turned to social media as a way of ‘trying to get something that was still to do with my industry, whilst still being creative.’[9]
Since creating his Instagram account in March 2020, Potatio has found inspiration and unexpected collaboration in sharing his music with a growing online audience. In-person collaboration has been supplemented with Instagram comments and messages, motivating Potaito to continue to create new music and share his work online. New partnerships and networking links have also been made available to Potaito through his Instagram platform, as he has found himself reaching out and collaborating with some of his music idols such as Datsunn.
‘So, despite being on other sides of the planet, we’ve been easily able to collaborate, […] I wouldn’t really have thought to do it if Coronavirus Lockdown hadn’t have happened.’ [11]
Potatio is aware however, of the disconnect between him and his followers. His social media has enabled him to ‘kind of enter the [North East electronic music] scene which you know, none of them have actually seen me perform [live], which is an odd one.’[12] This highlights the current uncertainty surrounding the music industry and demonstrates how an Instagram following does not secure Potaito a career within the music industry once Lockdown restrictions are lifted. So far, Potaito hasn’t been able to make much money off of his new Instagram partnerships, relying upon furlough from his two jobs. The furlough scheme has however, enabled Potaito to spend more time focusing upon his compositions and productions, greatly improving his performance skills ‘ten-fold’ alongside his confidence too.
Both Chol and Potatio have seen much change in the past year, in changing the way they work and share ideas, they have continued to use collaboration as a tool to inspire creativity for themselves, and also to those who are involved in what they do. Growing technological confidence has created new opportunities in places they previously would not have reached out to, expanding their partnerships and creating global contacts. This change has come as a reaction to job and business uncertainty in the unprecedented circumstances Covid has forced them into, challenging them to find new ways to collaborate and network in order to, in Chol’s case, maintain themselves as a company, and in Potatio’s case, help establish himself within the music industry. Both Chol and Potaito have, however, adapted to new ways of sharing ideas by developing and participating in artistic communities that inspire creativity through collaboration.
[1] Heewong Chang, 'Autoethnography as Method: Developing Qualitative Inquiry', (Routledge: Abingdon, 2016), 57-58.
[2] Chol Theatre, 'About Us', We Are Chol, n.d., https://wearechol.co.uk/about-us/, (9th May 2021).
[3] Potaito, 'Music', Bandcamp, n.d., https://potaito.bandcamp.com, (9th May 2020).
[4] Ellen Wayman, Vicky Storey, Interview, 7th April 2021, 1.
[5] Ibid., 1.
[6] Ibid., 2.
[7] Ibid., 3.
[8] Ibid., 4.
[9] Ellen Wayman, Oliver Tait, Interview, 9th April 2021, 2.
[10] Potaito, 'Sharian', online audio, SoundCloud, https://soundcloud.com/potait-o/sets/sharian-major-composition, 19th February 2021, (9th May 2020), unpublished sound file.
[11] Ellen Wayman, Oliver Tait, Interview, 9th April, 1.
[12] Ibid., 3.
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