“Since art is inspired by life - now that I’m staying home with very limited social life I have become more aware of my feelings and mental status. My work had always been bringing together feelings/imagination along with the life I’m currently exposed too - now in a room in my house. There is no place to escape any thoughts or feelings. As an artist, all those feelings unfiltered go directly into canvas and sculptures. I’m now Me surrounded by my thoughts.”

“My father is surviving on classical music and Italian opera, especially Verdi. He has always lived much outside the constructs of space and time - he keeps alive smells, music, photos, memories, writings and images from his own imagination of Alexandria. Manhattan meets Alexandria. But always within his imagined world.” -Sherine Morsi on her father

“Nothing is really inspiring about the worry, fear and financial turmoil of this crisis. On top of that, like everyone, I miss my friends and extended family, and simple freedoms to go out and about. That being said, I’m grateful that I can still work from home, keeping my hands and mind occupied embroidering on the couch, while being with my spouse and dog.”

“I’m currently retreating in my Abu Dhabi studio. Smaller space means being focused and better productivity. Though I’ve been pulling out very long hours - mainly developing covid-19 content. Working out after work helps. My window overlooks a runway of a private airport that I’m not able to photograph. It’s actually quite peaceful with ample of negative space. I’ve developed this ritual to observe every plane landing and taking off.”

“Right now I am completely uninspired artistically, however I have noticed that spirituality (and due to the times we are living in) I have become more drawn to Prophet Mohammed PBUH’s Sunnah regarding healthy and lifestyle. Objects I have used during this time are brushes and leather paint. I have begun playing around with the two. It’s nowhere near as easy as I thought it would be.”

اغلب اشتغالاتي في مرسمي(قراءة او كتابة او ممارسة فنية) ومرسمي جزء من منزلي

هذا الوقت الأطول في المنزل بالتأكيد يعين على ممارسة فنية متواصلة وإذا من تأثير او تفكير بتأثير فترة الحجر فهو غير مباشر. انا في الغالب لا تتحكم في اعمالي الأفكار المباشرة بقدر الاداء والفكرة العامة التي اشتغل عليها تجربة متصلة ومتراكمة

“With more spare time and fewer projects gives me opportunity to experiment and consider different themes and styles for my artwork. Reading diverse subjects now has become a huge part of my daily routine. I used to read before, but not as much. Currently I am learning about sculpture and architectural design - a field that I was always interested in since childhood, but never had the opportunity to learn properly.”

“Despite the extra time to work on my paintings now, I am most inspired under tension and pressure. I find this extra time comes at a price— a decline in inspiration. It’s a good thing I’ve thought of a few paintings early in quarantine that I can work on now. An objective I have during quarantine is ironically to paint less! Painting is second-nature—I can do it non-stop and I’ve spent about four days doing nothing but painting all day. I spend more time researching and learning philosophy and spirituality. Maybe watch some more movies, of course The Godfather trilogy!”

“As I normally spend a lot of time in my studio everyday, the social distancing doesn’t bother me too much, I am used to it. Besides being worried about the healthy of loved ones, the crisis didn’t have a big impact on my daily rhythm. I am currently working hard on my upcoming exhibition in London in July.

I also have taken up gardening. Since the beginning of spring I spend my free time outdoors in our garden, planting fruit trees, plants and vegetables of various kinds that I then use for cooking. Being outdoors in the sun makes me happy and it gives me energy and strength to work in my studio.”

“I am finding out that art and traveling took me away from a lot of small things that I used to love. I am spending most of my time reading while listening to music. I love all music in general and I have a lot of instruments around me, like the piano, guitar, tabla and the oud. I never used to be good in any to be honest but am trying and happy to catch up again!”

الابداع ليس مرتبط بفترة لانة موهبة من الله والأحداث تاتي وتزول والفنان يتعايش مع كل الظروف فهو قادر على أن يجعل من المواقف الصعبة شيء جميل من خلال لون أو من خلال لحظة فرح يعيشها مع ما يملكة من ابداع ...وذلك بالفكر الإيجابي حتى يبتعد عن الواقع المؤلم من حولة

فترة الحجر نتعامل معها كبقية الايام.... بالنسبة إلى الالهام الظروف تحتم ان يكون هناك موضوع لما نتعايش معة وهذة الظروف مفروضة على الجميع فى كل بقاع الأرض لذلك لها جزء من التفكير والفنان قادر على كيفية التعامل مع ما يحيط بة

“I am not active in my studio right now, and I am still trying to absorb what is happening. I read and sketch everyday and I read a few emails, but nothing more.”

“I have been finding myself illustrating our palm trees more and more. Since I can’t ship my photography film to be developed I’m using Polaroids to take some photos and work around them with drawings.

I have a long history with palm trees - my family used to have palm tree farms until the oil came and it changed everything. I’m rediscovering this connection now being all by myself and exploring the trees out in the garden.”

“The quarantine hasn’t affected my painting practice at all. I continue to paint is my studio as much as I can.”

“The quarantine period has allowed me to spend time with phonebooks in a way that I haven’t before. Typically, you go through them and absorb the images and stories but there is little chance to reflect. Now, I can slow down and have my time to reflect on the work and draw connections and inferences that I may have missed and I hope that the habit stays long after this is over.”

“What is products were not for sale online? What are digital products? I am now interested in simulating the ancient Egyptians decorating their tombs with drawings, sculptures, gifts, offerings, etc. I want to re-install all of my artwork accumulated in the studio over the years and live in it while waiting!”

“Minutes in the studio..conflicting feelings..silence..noise..hope..anxiety..activity..and isolation.”

“The fact that the world is halted and there really isn’t an option to go out anymore gives me more hours to spend in my home studio. I’m trying out all the excess art supplies and ideas I’ve had stashed for a while but never got around trying.

I’ve been paper making for the first time, and also did a bit of papier-mâché clay. All of which I filmed as tutorials for a small group of friends on Snapchat because I felt the need to be talking to people!”

"Although the physical doors of my home are closed to me at this period of time, the virtual doors of the metaverse are wide open and (almost) endless. With use of my virtual reality (VR) headset, I have visited lecture halls, meet ups, a virtual fireworks show in the middle of snow capped mountains, and taken part in a VR live painting art contest. Staying indoors helped me discover a world coded and created by visual artists that is completely virtual.

This inspired me to live stream my VR art on Twitch, a famous live streaming platform.

I paint VR paintings with themes of nature, good thoughts, and unity.

With all the information being fed to us, accurate of not, I wanted to create these videos and streams to remind ourselves not to get lost in all of what we are being fed, and to bring the relaxing creation of art into our screens instead."

“Since the quarantine, I’ve really missed going to museums and galleries. Instead I have been walking a lot outside, and I have found nature’s brutal beauty entoxicating. I feel the synergy of understanding between people and I am hoping that this situation has forced us to change our lives for the better. My studio to practice has always been solitary, so it hasn’t changed.”

“It has been a time of deep contemplation and self reflection. I have allowed myself to revisit past projects I’ve done and how they shaped my creative practice. But also a time to reflect on other creative pathways. My studio space is not as functional so I am diving into poetry and writing more than painting. I am enjoying this process and seeing where it will take me.”

“Since my studio is located outside my home, the closure of everything came abruptly so I was worried about that. Not having the space, materials and also how working at home would affect my practice. However, to my surprise, I have been working on projects I have kept aside for a while.”

“I believe that the earth is getting a break from human bings and it is time for us to practice being human. I am constantly looking for materials around me to express the same idea that we are all one..drawing helps.”

“I can’t get to my studio but worked with new materials a theme. Since everything related to COVID-19 is about numbers, I created work using dice containing a verse from old Arabic poetry about counting days”

“Starting my work is becoming different now, it is becoming a bit more difficult. I find myself thinking more about time, the way it’s surrounding us. I’m trying to find things outside of time, things that are detached from it, things that would survive without it, and work with them.”

“The current period and circumstances of living provided me with plenty of time. I am writing, documenting, and making. I take a five-minute walk every day, and there are already ten stories I want to document and share. I am sitting at home with my family, and I am already in the process of sketching my next ten paintings.

The world feels slow, yet a lot is happening within such a short span of time. A new headline appears by the hour, and a new rule imposes itself by the day.

I feel the urge to document it all, to pause, and to process what is happening. At the end of the day, I am not inspired, nothing about the state we are living in is inspiring, but I am here observing, documenting, and creating stories during my quarantine.”

“New routines, new outcomes, and until the painting is completed, no outcome is certain.”

في البداية لم يكن الأمر متوقع أو منتظر كنا نسمع بإخبار الصين ونعتقد بأننا في معزل عنهم

حتى كان البعض يرى بأن قرارات الحكومات مبالغ فيها

كل يوم نمر بالكثير من الأخبار المفرحة والتعيسة في نفس اليوم

الفنان او منتج الثقافة في الغالب يأخذ فترة كمون ونمو داخلي لأي حدث قبل الخروج كمنتج

مررت في ثلاث مراحل

مرحلة ماقبل الصدمة وفيها اعتزلت وابتعدت وأوقفت كل نشاطاتي غير متابعة الأخبار

وفي المرحلة الثانية دخلت حالة الصدمة الحقيقية وبدأت فيها مقاومة الاكتئاب بالعمل على مشاريع قديمة في ورشتي ومحاولة إشغال نفسي الصور المرفقة لهذه المرحلة

وفي مرحلة التقبل دخلت في التفكير العميق لهذا الحدث والإستقراء والاستقصاء والبحث وأوقفت مرة أخرى نشاطاتي العملية

واتوقع سأدخل مرحلة التصالح والانتاج في المرحلة التالية

لقد اعادت الكرونا التفكير في طريقة حياتي

وسيبقى أثرها لجيل على الأقل في هذا العالم

من الوعي مقاومة التصادم معها والتصالح المثمر

سأكتفي بهذا

لاحظت بأن الكثير كان ينتظر وقت غير مشغول مثل ماحدث مع كرونا

ولكن عندما أتى فراغ كرونا أتى محمل بالكثير من المعاناه والاحباط .

“I am keeping inspired in my studio like always. I am currently making a painting in support of the national awareness campaign during the pandemic crisis (translated from Arabic into ‘Don’t Worry’) that is reassuring the community not to worry, that food and medical supplied will be enough for everyone.”