Page 5 - SMCK Magazine - Issue #01

COVID-19 AND THE ARTS. GAME OVER.
A NEW GAME STARTS SOON.
The struggle taking place today inside the je- wellery art scene may offer insight on how artists working in other disciplines combat conformism, destructive narcissism, rigid he- gemonies.
Without prior warning, the COVID-19 crisis broke the vi- cious cycle of jewellery fairs and weeks. Due to the travel restrictions many countries have adopted, flights and ac- commodations may not be affordable in the coming months.
Difficulties and risks will encourage artists to evaluate events based on the analysis of cost and return. Reces- sion caused by COVID-19 will force organizers who don’t satisfy artists’ expectations for exposure, career oppor- tunities, and sales to improve their services or to close down. Imagination, innovation, honesty, and action are qualities now required to stay in the game, for nothing will remain the same in 2021.
Before COVID-19, it was difficult for outsiders to enter the closed circuit of contemporary jewellery and impreg- nate it with their ideas.
Peer pressure and the alleged benefits of being a follo- wer made this unchallenged community also accept poor management, poor concepts, poor work, poor ex- hibition design, sleazy venues, lack of press reviews, and the absence of buyers as normal. The patronizing of ar- tists by self-proclaimed influencers—ignorant of art his- tory, economics, communication—has turned even reputable international events into a boring case of “in- siders” patting “insiders” on the back.
The two-month-long lockdown is a taste of the next two years to come. Even if economic activity resumes, many
companies and freelancers won’t make it; there will be hardly any money for the arts and design sector.
Recession is the word for the economic slowdown and pessimism we are stuck in. When money isn’t available, it won't be easy to sell illusions, because people will look twice at their dime before casting it to the wind. This is the time for ambitious and hard-working people to re- design the rules of the game.
It’s a difficult task to make the art-loving public—the pro- spective customers who will refresh the jewellery scene with their sophistication and standards—familiar with the amazing history, creative potential, and emotional value of the medium of jewellery. This requires knowledge, persistence, reflection, and strategy. It’s easy to copy the- mes from the discourse of the 1990s and paste them into the 2020s. However, the challenges that inspire ar- tists nowadays have more to do with major armed con- flicts and cold wars, democracy and constitutional rights, hygienic totalitarianism and speech control, integration and citizenship, religion, identity, tradition, faith, civil acti- vism, and environmental protection than sex, drugs, girl power, and political correctness.
SMCK Magazine’s goal is to make art lovers understand the history and potential of jewellery as an art medium. It strives to bridge art and craft disciplines, to discuss contemporary social practices, and make artists aware of market basics. The magazine also serves as a podium for indies and outsiders—gallerists, curators, artists—to ad- dress interdisciplinary art directions, sharing stories of failure and success, and showing readers different cul- tural perspectives on how to appreciate and use art.
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