Personal Accounts of the Impact of COVID-19 on the Art World
In pursuing information about the impact of COVID-19 on the arts and their institutions, I knew it was crucial for me to supplement my research with personal accounts on the topic. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Michele Shea of the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, New Jersey and Logan Bellew who has had extensive experience in the art world.
Michele Shea is the Assistant Director, Corporate, Foundation, & Government Relations Development at the Montclair Art Museum. She went to Seton Hall University for her undergraduate degree with majors in art history and psychology. At the time, she was an art history major purely out of interest, but intended on going forward and pursuing a PhD in psychology. There were only five other museum studies programs in the country and she was perhaps only one out of two art history majors so she went forth and decided to fully pursue art history.
A career in the museum field, with the lack of museum programs in the country, wasn’t even something that she knew was possible. However, once she realized it was, she felt like she could do something that was really unique and specific. She then began in museum registration and became interested in working with object care.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, her entrance into the museum field wasn’t immediate, but even as she worked in other fields she couldn’t forget that a career in the museum field was what she wanted to do. Unable to forget the job her heart truly desired, she took an internship with the (Montclair Art) museum which gradually evolved into her working in development. In her words, she saw development as a look into the sort of “lifeblood, the fundraising piece (of museums)” and she found really understanding that piece of it and how it affects every department in the museum intriguing. She hasn’t left that side of the museum field since.
Sitting down and chatting with Michele about her experience with COVID and the lockdown, and how her museum responded was an enlightening experience. As someone who is pursuing a career in the museum field after I graduate, in a social and economic climate that is less than ideal, I feel particularly fortunate to have had the opportunity to sit down and chat with her on the topic. She reassured me that regardless of the current state of uncertainty in the art world, the arts and humanities are the lifeblood of our society and that everything will be okay for me, and for others with my similar interests.
Prior to the lockdown, the Montclair Art Museum was in the midst of opening their Federico Uribe: Animalia exhibit. The museum has since reopened and visitors now have the opportunity to experience the exhibit for themselves. For more information on the Montclair Art Museum, virtual tours offered, etc. click here.
Logan Bellew (he/his/they) teaches photography at the State University of New York in New Paltz and Arizona State University. He earned an MFA in photography from the University of New Mexico and exhibits his photographs, videos, and installations internationally. Logan’s personal work brings him to Cyprus where he also volunteers with the AIDS Solidarity Movement of Cyprus conducting island-wide HIV education, public speaking, testing, and outreach campaigns.
He has worked for and made contributions to projects, exhibitions, and publications with the Getty Foundation, Tamarind Institute, Phoenix Art Museum, The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale Public Art, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Princeton University Art Museum, galleries Alexander Gray Associates – New York, Julie Saul Gallery – New York, Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel – São Paulo, and conceptual installation artist Valeska Soares.
Having the opportunity to chat with Logan gave me a new perspective of the impact of COVID on the arts. Since he has worked closely with artists leading up to the lockdown, I gained a perspective on how this pandemic impacted the artists rather than just the institutions, and how artists have been forced to adapt and evolve to these new circumstances.
We were able to have a very open and honest conversation about the importance of the arts and humanities especially during the pandemic, and he provided insight on just how different the future of the arts may be. As someone who is pursuing a career in the art world and considers themself an artist, I feel fortunate to have spoken with Logan, I saw aspects of myself in his personality, and felt reassured about my future and the future of the arts knowing that there are people like him in it.
For more information on Logan or his work visit his website here.