New Normal
"New Normal" is a widely referenced phrase of these liminal and strange Covid-life. We can act as participants, archivists, and historians in this strange time. We can act in a way that takes pause within this time, as we understand that we are living in a time that will be studied for all of history.
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"New Normal" is a Grand Rapids, Michigan area project that is composed of photography, comic strips, and an aggregated collection of the hashtag "newnormalgr" that collects the feed of various social media sites. A Grand Rapids area project, this serves to support and see the lives in and around 100 miles of the city. This project acts as a catalyst for support, connection through the laughs, tears, joy, boredom, loss, state of madness, state of shock, and state of dissociation that occurs while living in this collective trauma. All art created serves as an artifact of this time.
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Call to Artists
Call to artists to participate in a daily comic of their day for a week. Comics may be hand-drawn, painted, or in a program. Once artists commit to a week during the months of January-March 2021, they will draw one panel of a part of their day, everyday, for that entire week, then submit their 7-paneled comic strip as documentation of life in the "New Normal."
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Comics must be emailed to NEWNORMALGR@GMAIL.COM no later than Saturday morning of any week from January-March 2021. Each comic must be saved and sent as a jpeg.
Call to Photographers
Call to photographers to participate in a photography practice designated to capture regular life during the pandemic and deep quarantine. This is a call for the photos in and around the space where you live. These photos are not of polished life, but to honor and archive the ongoing life that we see and engage with every day. Dirty dishes piled high. Children's toys strewn about. The boredom of every life. The spontaneous dance parties occurring out of boredom. We are not allowed in each other's homes right now. Let us be voyeurs into each other's lives, let us honor the stillness and the insanity of this time. Let us remember what this was like. Note: Priority will be given to photos in and around the closest to where you sleep at night. Photography of the changing city - its emptiness and masked people are appreciated, but this is a project primarily about home and home life.
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Photos must be emailed to NEWNORMALGR@GMAIL.COM no later than Saturday morning of any week from January-March 2021 to be featured the following week. Each photo must be saved and sent as a jpeg and have the photographer's name in the title.