Pandemic forces global digitial shift

By Rachel Dubber.

Pandemic life is tough.

As an artist and introvert, I find it easy to shut off into a little world of my own. But there was no way I could have prepared myself for the mental blow of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting Lockdown would bring in March 2020.

For the first few months, I was as bewildered as everyone else and scrambling for ideas on how to keep my newly formed business going.

The isolation part was fine. I enjoyed my husband being at home and we spent more quality time together. (Although it did put a halt to me whipping out the vacuum whenever I wanted. I had to wait until he took his daily walk so as not to interrupt the back-to-back Zoom calls!)

Pandemic life: Mental struggle 

What hit me hardest was the mental struggle I had with myself. I had prepared my giftware range months ahead for the upcoming tourist season, and now suddenly found myself staring at piles of stock in a panic, not being able to breathe.

I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t focus, my mind felt like mush! Gradually my revenue streams dried up, as one by one, local giftware retailers were forced to close their doors.

I needed a new approach. To clear my head and adapt to the reality that the pandemic would alter our lives in more ways than one.

I was lucky in that I already had the bones of a simple eCommerce website set up. I just hadn’t been focusing any of my energies on online selling as yet. But the fact that the stock wasn’t perishable and wouldn’t go out of season was a clear positive. There was a way forward, but not without some help.

Online platforms and social media were buzzing with movements and shifts in people buying local but doing it online.

I took advantage of the Trading Online voucher being offered by the Local Enterprise Office to update my website, engage a product photographer and create a digital marketing strategy to help me showcase my range of giftware to a new audience.

In the midst of all the upheaval, I was still creating art whenever I could. It did a great job of quietening my overly active mind!

In times of need, it is amazing how we can acclimatise to the situation at hand. And so, from the uncertainty and turmoil emerged a light at the end of the tunnel. A couple of pretty bright lights, in fact!

Connemara National Park: Celebrating through the pandemic

Connemara National Park is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year. They reached out to me and asked if I’d like to participate in an exhibition of local artists they were planning to mark the occasion. In the middle of a pandemic, neither they nor I were too sure how this would work out.

But they didn’t need to ask me twice. I’m a Galway girl through and through and Connemara holds a very special place in my heart.

The work was curated and hung in their gallery onsite, even though it was not open to the public. A professional photographer came to shoot the collection, and the result was a beautiful video that would be shared with a much broader audience than an in-person exhibition could ever have reached.

My next unexpected opportunity came from much further afield. The Contemporary Irish Arts Centre in Los Angeles put out a call to artists across the globe to feature in an online program designed to bring the community together and create connections with new audiences.

I was selected as one of 124 contemporary artists to feature in the program and my original drawing of a Connemara donkey, M’asal Beag Dubh was recently shared globally across social media as part of that online exhibition.

Artists and galleries are harnessing the power of the online world to bring their work to broader, larger audiences and enrich the lives of those who would never have had the chance to see them otherwise.

With some resilience, creativity, a dash of stubbornness, and some welcome support from the Local Enterprise channels, my small business continues not just to exist, but to thrive and grow.

The last months have brought huge challenges, hardships, and change, touching all of us in some way or another. My journey into the digital world may have been accelerated somewhat by the events of 2020, but this uncertain way of living has opened doors for both my art and my business that I couldn’t have imagined a year ago. And for that, I’ll always be grateful.

If you would like to learn more about  Rachel and her work visit her  website: www.racheldubber.com

Prepared by Patrick O’Brien.

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