As of writing this, England is days away from heading into the second Lockdown for four weeks, ending on the 2nd December, to aid the suppression of the Coronavirus (Covid-19). As of Thursday (05.11.20), further restrictions are in place regarding leaving your home including non-essential shops closing. This lead me to think about Unexpected Joy and how this development will impact the exhibition.
During this time, we must be able to adapt and find the positive in the situation. The world, due to the pandemic, is filled with hate, fear and it is easy to find the issues with announcements made, developments taking place and with the attitude towards the issue in general. However, all it takes is a change of perspective to take a look at this as an opportunity. An opportunity that, as creative practitioners, can enable us to explore new ways of working and enable us to unleash our innovative and entrepreneurial spirits and enable our problem solving "soft skill" to develop. This morning, (Sunday 01.11.20) I started a dialogue within our Facebook chat channel about the Lockdown announcement and how this would impact our work, sharing my thoughts on how we can put our creative energy and skills together to create an Unexpected Joy virtual experience. Could this be through the Instagram platform? A blog? Or even a 3D virtual exhibition, an exhibition that would be the ultimate Unexpected Joy experience. Created as if money was of no issue, the ideal exhibition space created in 3D and our individual works showcased inside. Thanks to Karolina's discipline this would be a great opportunity to showcase her skills and even be able to expand on her discipline.
This discussion allowed the growth of positive energy within the chat channel, leaving no space for negativity, whilst also allowing for constructive feedback and dialogue. This dialogue gave us the chance to look at the looming Lockdown as an opportunity instead of a hindrance. It has given us a chance to think about or work in a different context, and the time going forward to think about how to develop our practice in regards to the digital world. This brings me on to how this challenge is helping to develop our "soft skill" of cognitive flexibility too. Being able to hold two different concepts within the mind at once. Our project now hangs in the future of Covid-19 and how the government responds. We must think about both the physical exhibition and also the increasingly more likely, digital exhibition. We must think about our work and what developments or adaptations must be made to showcase the work in either field. How will it affect the scale of the work? The colours? Will the audience change due to this?
I started this MA to develop my craft. To grow as a graphic designer and creative practitioner. It never occurred to me that I would be developing these skills throughout this time. It is these skills of cognitive flexibility, problem-solving, to name only two, that will enable us to grow as professionals within the industry. Developing these skills throughout the course will enable us to leave being in a position to move towards our career aspirations with confidence, knowing how to handle various situations, people, problems and how to make the best of every situation through creative innovation.
References and Figure List
Fig 01
Andreotti, D. (2020). Covid-19. [Image].
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