Keeping Arts Alive During COVID-19 Pandemic

By AMIRIL MUTTAQIEN MEKETAR KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 (Bernama) -- Art galleries nationwide may be temporarily closed due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, but that does not necessarily mean that art is ‘dead’. The annual SATU art exhibition, which was held at Galeri Shah Alam by Persatuan Seni Rupa Malaysia (PeRUPA) was cut short due to MCO, has gone virtual. The exhibition, first held in 2015, involved 55 artists, including from Japan, Germany, India, the Maldives and Iran, said PeRUPA president Abu Zaki Hadri, 41, to Bernama. He said the exhibition was supposed to be held from March 4 till 27, but was cut short due to MCO, and they decided to bring the event to Facebook. “We lost one week of show due to the MCO. Hence, we came up with the initiative known as the Virtual PeRUPA Art Gallery - SATU [Expended Version] with ONE OBJECTIVE event,” he added. The Taiping-born artist said the month-long virtual gallery, from April 4 until May 5, aims to reach a wider audience and provide artists an avenue to gain more exposure for their artworks. The virtual art gallery in the form of a video is available on PeRUPA Malaysia’s Facebook page and shows the artworks by the artists involved. He said their Facebook page also displayed an e-catalogue of the artworks for art lovers and the public to purchase them online, with prices ranging from RM700 to RM6,000 each. “If all the artworks are successfully sold, the artists get 75 per cent , with the remaining 25 per cent for PeRUPA, of which 20 per cent will be channeled to the COVID19 (MCO) Artist Support Fund, “ he added. Asked the impact of COVID-19 on the local art industry, he said that many local artists were affected and had to use their savings to survive. “I understand that people now are cautious about spending, spending only on what they need to survive and save for emergencies…if there is no buyer, then it means no business and no income for our artists,” he added. However, he said, the artists were grateful that they can withdraw their hard-earned money through KWSP’s i-Lestari and at the same time hoped that the government would continue to support them to help them weather the adversity. -- BERNAMA