Since the pandemic began, we had been receiving distress calls form humans of all kinds. Many artists I know helped raise funds, spread awareness, offered online classes, spread social and political awareness and attempted to create work as a way to negotiate the energy and reality of the pandemic.

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This was in 2020.

 

I began Circles of Resilience as a way to help this section of our community through extremely troubled times – not just in the context of the pandemic but also politically ( India had been in political unrest since the CAA, NRC citizenship amendment efforts of the ruling party), many artists we in jail or living in fear and there was already an atmosphere of gloom. To add to this, the arts is a largely unorganized sector in India and many of us were living on monthly, project based and self created work without savings. The majority of the work and practice depended on being able to gather and touch, which the pandemic has effectively put an end to.

 

We decided to meet as humans who happen to be in the artistic way of life. That we are artists or from the arts doesn't necessarily define us, but it does predispose us to a few realities

 

 

• The uncertain economy and ecology which we have always navigated, now becoming unfathomable and possibly totally defunct. The worries and hopelessness this brings.
   

• Concerns around the ability to even keep alive, what has come to be our practice (observation: those in the arts field, even non-artists seem to have a practice and often this is very intensely dependent on proximity with other humans)
   

• Being very sensitive and disallowing ourselves a desensitisation that the population of a capitalist community normally arrives at as necessary to remain functional and sane. This sensitivity being a primary tool for us to make work and do what we do. Also that makes this time, with the loss and collective trauma quite hard to bear without each other.
   

• Last but certainly not the least, hopelessness around our very function. We often tell ourselves that our service and sometimes existence is to witness, process and reflect what is present in the world, community and times. Now, we are not allowed to witness in a way. Is the artist present? Largely online if at all. What does this mean at a day to day and an existential level, for us?

 

In light of the above we wanted to come together in CIRCLES OF RESILIENCE. 

 

 

Ten art-humans and a therapist with the training and compassion to create safe space. Here we can exist free of the hierarchies and status quo that riddles even our field and prevents a state of true equality. Power dynamics exist everywhere. Now, in this circle we virtually hold hands while we suffer the same or different internal crises, share and bring to light our worries and also the joys, hopes and tools that are keeping us going. It is essentially a circle of humans who just wish to check in with each other and our community so we emerge with resilience as a response to the current phenomenon.

 

 

But first and most importantly that we survive it and take each other along.

 

These Circles continued through 2020.This was possible because of the generosity of our therapists who came onboard probono knowing that most artists were not seeking mental health support due to its notoriously high costs.

I organize and host these. Participants get in touch via phone or social media. We have people from various genre, backgrounds and ages, signing in from all over the world.

 

In the last months, as India entered an even darker phase with the deadly second wave, infrastructural failure and mass deaths due to shortage of oxygen and hospital beds, I restarted the Circles of Resilience and the seats were taken within a day of putting out the invitation.