Artists of all kinds are trying to find ways of inspiring people during these troubling times. Musicians like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alicia Keys have put on virtual concerts while street artists are crafting stunning murals. But Provence-based photographer Jamie Beck started a movement called #IsolationCreation, where she committed to creating one piece of original photographic art each day as stay-at-home orders remain in place.
Beck, known for her gorgeous Instagram account @annstreetstudio (now @jamiebeck.co) and for inventing the cinemagraph with her husband back in 2011, has created over 35 original photographs since starting her lockdown. She is selling them for $50 as fine art posters on jamiebeck.co, and has chosen to give a portion of the proceeds to the Foundation for Contemporary Art's COVID-19 Emergency Grants Fund. To date, she has raised over $10,000 for that organization with thousands of posters sold, shipped to 65 different countries around the world.
"As official stay-at-home orders went in place, our jobs were put on hold for the foreseeable future, my baby was out of crèche indefinitely, and it sounded like France was moving toward a full lockdown," Beck told Departures. "I decided then to take the power back from losing work, losing freedom, losing support, and get into the studio to create one original piece of photographic art each day that this persisted."
She added, "I see this as a challenge to myself to produce something positive out of a situation none of us could ever anticipate. I aim to put forth beautiful daily content while also sharing my knowledge and love for photography."
The artist also called on other creators around the world to use this time to produce pieces of their own and use the #IsolationCreation hashtag. Since the call out, she's seen over 200,000 submissions of artwork from others. "It's been incredible to see the response," she said.
