The world and the creative society within it have both experienced major transitions over the past few months. The crisis and its impact have been eye opening, inviting us to reconsider our approach toward some of the most fundamental aspects of society. One such aspect is the idea of community, particularly its relationship with the cultural world. Culture has taken a big hit as a result of Covid-19, uniting creatives around the world in feelings of uncertainty and trepidation. Wix Playground partnered with It's Nice That to bring four creative leaders, Jessica Walsh, Eike König, Ollie Olanipekun and Danielle Pender, together to discuss the idea of community in light of these changes. Now, they share their vision by answering the following question: What does community mean to you?
Eike König:
UNITY sticks out most for me. Means acting like a team, helping each other and so on. I am part of different communities. The house and the people living there are one of them. My chosen family in Berlin is an important one. And so on. But for sure I am also part of a global community of artists and designers. But the ones with whom I am interacting on a daily basis are the most important ones for me.
Ollie Olanipekun:
To me 'community' means support, a support group with common interests but more importantly shared goals. A group coming together who believe in something and collectively know they have the power to change outdated systems. And I think now more than ever, community is there to lift each other up.
Danielle Pender:
Community to me means support; supporting each other or supporting something you believe in. With Riposte, we have always aimed to support other women through the magazines we've created and it's always been really important to us to get people together physically to support each other and share ideas. Now more than ever community is crucial to getting each other through and we can't wait to see our readers again!
Jessica Walsh:
Community means a group of people that share something, that could be a common interest or a shared struggle. While COVID-19 has been a particularly difficult time for almost everyone, one nice thing I've seen in the creative industry is the power of the community to come together and help one another. I've seen people who would have never connected or crossed paths before reaching out and offering knowledge, resources, and advice of how we can collectively get through this. It's been inspiring!
