During the last lockdown me and Mrs B had many conversations about leaving London. With everything closed we just couldn’t think of a reason we wanted to be here anymore. It seemed astonishing to me to even consider this as my hometown has always been my lifeblood but the city clearly had no circulation. And then lockdown lifted and we started to go to things again and the desire to depart faded. Once we were able to visit galleries and go to gigs everything started to make sense again. And I realised that without culture there was no point to being in a city. And, in fact, what was life without culture?
Why is culture so important? I think its because in those moments when you are immersed in a cultural experience, you are not thinking about your life, you are thinking about life itself. Art in all it’s forms generates these moments of contemplation and in these moments we transcend our own existence and are free of the machinations of our own mind. We get to think of something other than ourselves and that is liberating. It doesn’t matter whether it is an art exhibition or a gig or a dance performance, they all transport us away from our little lives and we get a sense of being connected to something larger, something universal.
And now as the second lockdown has just gone into effect we have to retreat back into our own caves with only boxsets for sustenance and we will have to wait until a more collective & more interactive life returns. But to underestimate the importance of culture is a mistake.
The neglect this government has shown during this pandemic for the arts & the events industries and everyone who works within it is truly painful. If they do not give adequate support to venues, companies and individuals there will not be much to come back to when it is all over. And then what are we all gonna do? Shopping and eating is just not enough. They do not feed the soul. They will not nourish our minds. Our spirits need sustenance, not just our bellies.
This week’s photos and above were provided by:
Monday: Among the Trees exhibition at the Hayward
Tuesday: Sister Cookie gig at Paper dress Vintage
Wednesday: Electronic music exhibition at the Design Museum
Thursday: Dance Performance at Southampton Row by Rocio Chacon, Thomasin Gulgec and Estela Merlos. Music performance by Kundai Munetsi
Today: Sunil Gupta exhibition at the Photographer’s gallery