Bellingham artists find new ways to stay connected, supportive amid coronavirus threat
The Bellingham arts community had its world come to a screeching halt in March when it had to cancel or postpone meetings and events due to the new coronavirus pandemic.
One group of artists impacted was Allied Arts of Whatcom County, a non-profit corporation that has been around 41 years and was created by enthusiasts wanting to support arts in the Bellingham community.
According to Executive Director and Interim Arts in Schools Coordinator Kelly Hart, Allied Arts had “morphed into serving the community within the arts.”
With a staff of three, two full-time and one part-time employee, along with hundreds of volunteers, Allied Arts has created about a dozen art programs.
“It came to a screeching halt like everything else,” Hart told The Bellingham Herald.
The close-knit arts community in Bellingham and across Whatcom County has found new ways to congregate while social distancing.
“We have an amazing community of artists and of arts organizations,” Hart said. “One of the really cool things that have happened through all of this with the COVID-19 closures, (is) a group of over 30 arts organizations have been having weekly Zooms. The first thing they wanted to do is to reach out to the community to show their support. We started a Facebook page, the Whatcom Arts Project.”
Hart went on to say that the page was designed to engage with the community and provide people with arts while they are stuck at home. Each day the page focuses on a different art form, with the lessons ranging from for children in the morning to adults in the afternoons.
One of Allied Arts’ teaching artists whose class time was cut by the pandemic was Mary Ennis Davis, who has been making a living with art for more than 30 years, creating her “guardians” out of recycled materials.
“The scale of (the Bellingham arts community) is big but I’d also say the huge heart of it is big,” Davis said. “There’s such amazing support for the arts here, for all ages. I think it’s pretty incredible.”
Davis, 61, served as a teacher for Allied Arts in addition to regularly traveling the country for fine art shows. When the pandemic began, Davis was forced to adapt and find new ways to market her artwork.
“I thought OK, I have to pivot, I just have to change what I’m doing because I can’t quit working,” Davis said. “So I moved all my artwork to online and opened an Etsy store. I really reached out through social media, which was like teaching an old dog new tricks, because I have never had to do that, so I’m selling online right now.”
Another local organization that has been affected by the pandemic is Bellingham Handmade, a non-profit that helps small business artisans grow to become viable businesses in the local economy.
Bellingham Handmade officially became a non-profit in September and also partnered with Allied Arts. Co-coordinator Rachel Jackson said that the pandemic has affected their organization exponentially.
“We are a group that is built on social interaction and social events,” Jackson said. “We are an organization that plans outdoor markets and coordinates them for the artisans. This year, we were set up for every single Saturday, every single Sunday. This whole business model is all dependent upon social engagement.”
“We’re trying to make people feel included and not excluded and have it be really easy to access a community and learn how to sell with peer mentorship,” Jackson said.
Bellingham Handmade is building a multi-vendor platform that will operate online and is similar to Etsy. According to Jackson, the terms and conditions will require small businesses to operate locally and creates a sustainable model in terms of sourcing and processing.
The organization has created a Kickstarter to raise money for the platform with a final goal of $3,000.