Tanzania to Toronto, Calgary to Cleveland: Teams across the world are making 'Long Distance Art'

Three weeks ago, Toronto playwright Nick Green reached out to several artists around the world who had either submitted to or expressed interest in being involved with The Social Distancing Festival, a virtual arts festival Green launched last month in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Green asked if they would be interested in being "match-made" with another artist to create something new — and three teams of artists in different cities have been doing Zoom calls, texting, and meeting on WhatsApp to collaborate on "an artistic work that speaks to our times" ever since.

The resulting works will be unveiled on the Social Distancing Festival website on April 29th, and Green calls them "staggering, innovative, political, and very, very impressive."

"It has exceeded my wildest hopes, and I can't wait to share it," he says. 

Here's a little rundown of what to expect from each collaboration.

Toronto and Dar es Salaam

"I remember when I first started this project and had a moment of wondering if anyone would even submit," Green says. Then he opened up a video from a dancer in Tanzania — and that's when he knew he was working on something special.

"Tadhi Alawi is a dancer who was set to travel to a dance festival in Ireland and was looking forward to the opportunity. His video on the site is one of the most viewed posts, and he was a natural choice for me to ask to participate. He said yes right away, and I'm thrilled."

Green knew that whoever he paired him with would need to be "innovative, deep, and super talented to match his ability." Barbara Johnston, Anika Johnson, and Suzy Wilde came to mind right away. 

"They are three deeply loved and respected artists in Toronto," Green says. "Their song 'Wild Heart' is basically the song of the summer and plays on repeat in my living room."

Johnston, Johnson, and Wilde were thrilled. 

"To say that we are ecstatic about our collaboration with Tahdi would be an understatement," Johnston says on behalf of the trio. "We have been sending music and choreography back and forth as well as sharing stories and thoughts on our collaboration — and on life in general. It's been so incredibly special to collaborate with someone who we've never met and yet feel so artistically connected. It's the most exciting and unique artistic experience of our lives."

"This project is about the sadness that comes when you realize you cannot keep a promise even though you wish you could," adds Alawi. "These girls are amazing."

Calgary and Cleveland

Green says that the largest number of submissions by far has been from visual artists who have had exhibitions cancelled or abruptly closed. Two artists in this situation are Simone Saunders and Tekikki Walker.

"Simone is a fibre artist in Calgary, whose series of tufted portraits of black women are as majestic and jubilant as they are political," Green explains. "Tekikki is a multimedia designer and artist in Cleveland whose work was so stunning that we posted three different series of hers. These incredible artists have taken inspiration from an article in the Washington Post about two Black men who were run out of a Walmart for wearing masks."

Essentially, Saunders and Walker have created two artistic works that are in conversation with one another about the experience of radicalized folks during this time.

"In what world does it make it okay for Black bodies to continue to be harassed while equally at risk during a crisis such as COVID-19?" Walker says. "Will things always feel like we're teetering between the hope for a utopia lifestyle with dystopian views? In our work, Simone and I wanted to take an individualistic approach to interpret what the [Washington Post article] meant and how racism festers even during a pandemic. I'm grateful for such a great experience to discuss the difference between Canadian and American culture, and how the approach to the pandemic might differ across the border."

Adds Saunders: "Kip Diggs, an African American man interviewed in the Washington Post, mentioned that he creates his masks, 'pink, lime green, Carolina blue so I don't look menacing. I want to take a lot of that stigma and risk out as best I can.' Within our collaboration, Tekikki and I decided to use these three colours as a foundation for creating our respective pieces, while drawing inspiration from the Washington Post article. Showcasing our collaboration in the Social Distancing Festival brings voice to the inequality and racism that is prevalent within marginalized groups throughout this pandemic."

Adelaide and New York City

One of the most interdisciplinary experiments is the pairing of musician Charlie Rauh with painter Liza Merkalova.

"Charlie is a well-known and incredible musician who frequently uses literature as inspiration for his work," Green says. "Liza's artwork is colourful, expressive, and dreamlike. I introduced them with the idea that Charlie would compose a piece inspired by a painting by Liza, but Liza ended up taking this to the next level by suggesting that she then paint another piece based on the music that Charlie composes. It's a pretty amazing glimpse into the creative process to listen to this song while looking at these paintings."

Rauh says that his process for creating work is "rooted in patience."

"I hope to create a space that invites peace and wonder that is delivered with simplicity," he says. "I took some time to just sit and look at Liza's painting, 'Woman With Emerald Ring.' In the painting, a woman sits alone staring off to the distance. It brought on a wave of blunt reality — that so many around the world are waiting to see what will become of them and their communities. As a New Yorker, with thousands dying and the city's vibrancy being brutally depleted, I wanted to write a lullaby for everyone as well as myself — a reminder that we will see the other side of this.  So I composed 'Resurgam,' which in Latin means 'I shall rise again.'"

Merkalova adds: "The painting of music (as well as poetry) requires an almost complete repeal of the artist's personality, and deep immersion into the personality of the musician or poet. It's like embodying the essence of distant values. This is a particularly difficult task, since every painting is always about the artist themselves."

These are not easy times to find hope, but initiatives like this offer glimpses into how we can come together as a global community during and after this crisis. You can see the result of all these collaborations on April 29th at the Social Distancing Festival website, and continue to check back at that site to see what future artistic match-making Green comes up with.

CBC Arts understands that this is an incredibly difficult time for artists and arts organizations across this country. We will do our best to provide valuable information, share inspiring stories of communities rising up and make us all feel as (virtually) connected as possible as we get through this together. If there's something you think we should be talking about, let us know by emailing us at [email protected]. See more of our COVID-related coverage here.