It is 2021, and in a usual year we’d be starting courses and classes next week, we’d be opening a new exhibition and the year would be opening up in front of us. But this is not a usual year and the third lockdown means none of these things are possible.
I often start the year with a blogpost about the shows, events and exhibitions I’m excited about visiting, but that seems like tempting fate. Instead of planning my exhibition calendar I’ve been spending a little too much time on social media over lockdown and the other evening, I came across an Instagram post that made me smile. More than the cat videos that also make me smile, I have found my mind drifting back to this image again and again. So today I allowed myself to ponder why it resonated with me. It sums up my thinking about New Brewery Arts in 2021 in some unexpected ways.
Craft – oh boy, there’s some amazing craft in the image – the man is surrounded by his hand-made bamboo fish-traps. It was the craftsmanship that caught my attention first. He’s encircled by the product of his skill, dexterity and hard work. The materials are, no doubt, locally sourced and he’ll be selling these traps to local fishermen to use locally. I bet that the whole making, selling and use takes place in no more than a 10-mile radius. A perfect example of a local, circular, sustainable economy. Plus, the craftsmanship blew me away (I tried basket making at a class here, and I now appreciate the skill in every basket I see).
But there is more in the image than the craftsmanship in the traps, I see the skill in loading the bike too – there’s balance. It was this idea of balance in 2021 that got me thinking. In this year we are all going to need to take on difficult loads, the skill is in making what may be unwieldy, difficult and cumbersome balance. As we continue to respond to what comes - the changes, new rules and possibilities - we can manage the burden better if we can find balance..
Finally, the photo represents forward motion. Whatever happens in 2021, we go forward under our own steam. There is, it seems to me, no other choice. Each day we pedal on and at some point this year we’ll find ourselves somewhere exciting with fresh potential ahead and new challenges to enjoy.
So, for 2021, I hope for craft at our backs, a huge wealth of skill, dexterity and hard work surrounding us. I hope we can bear the load with a delicate sense of balance, poise and steadfastness. And I know we will face the year head-on as we travel through it.
That is why I couldn’t shake the image from my mind – it sums up all I hope for 2021. Bring it on.