How COVID Changed Everything Right From Art Shows To Commissions

The pandemic made some significant changes to the work everyone was getting done, and the most prevalent was the inability to meet each other in person throughout the pandemic. Whenever there was an increase in the number of people with the Coronavirus, the Government would implement national lockdowns to protect everyone. People were not allowed to leave their houses unless for essential services or medical requirements. 

They hit the brakes on all social gatherings, which were quite upsetting for many who had to wait for them to ease up on the restrictions. During this time, most companies started making the move to remote working which was possible for some but not for all. There were many industries like hospitality, construction, household maintenance that could not move to remote working and had to wait for things to get better.

When it comes to art exhibitions, I struggled to have them in person with the new rules that were implemented. We had to have them online, which was not impossible but lacked a lot of the elements that made open houses and exhibitions as much fun as they were in person. We had to make a lot of changes to the way we were functioning, and it was quite challenging to keep up, but I did not have a choice.  

Before COVID-19, a large portion of my art sales came from art exhibits and art shows. From the time the pandemic started, my collectors moved to a more personalized, intimate business model with commissions taking the lead. One of the positives of the work I do is with the large number of people staying at home through the pandemic, I learned that they wanted to start doing us their houses. People were now spending money on art for their homes which they were not doing in the past.

However, creating awareness about the work we handle was quite challenging, especially because there were no art exhibits, shows or Gallery exhibitions. Furthermore, we were dealing with a significantly reduced number of collectors visiting my art studio, which meant that I could not get my work out as much as I would have wanted.

When it came to conversations that we were having in the past, we would ideally meet people. We did not make any significant changes but would not coordinate remotely through phone or text. Additionally, we had more one-to-one personal conversations with potential buyers. When it comes to getting in touch with people, we do not require an encrypted server because the information that we pass on is not that confidential. For the most part, we were using email and dropbox to keep in touch with everyone. We would share our designs, art pieces and other information that they needed through the same platforms.

Running an art studio doesn’t allow us to remote work, so there was no change there. Throughout the pandemic, I always worked from my art studio. Most of the time, I was there alone getting things done, and at the peak of the pandemic, we had very few people coming in.

At many points during the pandemic, potential buyers were hesitant about coming to my art studio. Everyone was afraid about catching the virus, and they were considering getting as much as possible done remotely. As an art studio, we always had a small number of people coming in, it wasn’t a large exodus like in a retail store, but it was reduced even further during COVID. When people did come into the studio, we made sure that they were following all the rules that were put up. They had to wear their masks regularly and maintain the right amount of social distance, which meant staying 6 feet apart.

When communicating with our clients, we also use additional software like Zoom, WhatsApp and Skype. We make it a point to use platforms they are comfortable with because we want to get the work over the line and do everything to make it easy for our clients.

We are also looking to partake in virtual public events and business Expos whenever they show up. We believe it would give us more exposure, especially during a pandemic with most people watching content online, which was not the case pre-pandemic.

If you are looking for a Canadian Contemporary Artist, get in touch with Vargas Reis. My Artwork is a compilation of emotions and life experiences from a contemporary perspective. My canvases are often a combination of drawings, paintings, and collages. If you want to go through some more of my work or want a better understanding of what I do, please click here. If you want to get in touch with me, please click here.