Over the last few weeks, I’ve been overwhelmed with the creativity of Chicagoans spreading news, arts, music, and wellness. Staying sane and healthy during these precarious times has become a virtually spearheaded community effort. Checking in, staying hydrated, standing up, stretching, and staying informed are the basics. The folks in the Bridgeport-based hub that encompasses Co-Prosperity Sphere, Lumpen, and Marz Community Brewing are still doing what they always do (which is a lot) and supporting artists through their new periodical, The Quarantine Times.
How does this platform offer a space for artists and creatives throughout the city?
So far, Quarantine Times’s daily editors have laid the groundwork for a sampling of different ways that people can contribute, and next week each of them will help introduce a new Chicagoan’s response to the crisis. They’ll take many different forms, but all will live on the website, in socials, and eventually in the book. We are making it as streamlined and easy as possible for people to submit their work, and our whole team at PMI [Public Media Institute] has shifted gears to support the editors in the refining and dissemination of the contributions as they come in. We have also reached out to designers and comics artists to start contributing imagery and comics for the site. The Quarantine Times Facebook group is growing rapidly and helps creatives stay in touch with one another, share resources and artwork, and be notified when new content arrives.
The Quarantine Times will publish new content every day. Thursday 4/2 Mairead Case will present Santiago X, Friday 4/3 Christy LeMaster will present Diddle Knabb, Saturday 4/4 Brandon Alvendia will present Valentina Zamfirescu, Sunday 4/5 Manal Kara of the Co-Prosperity Programming Council will publish a piece and Marc Fischer will present Liz Mason. v
