By Southwester Staff

Is cabin fever getting you down? Then head to Hirshhorn’s online video portal to explore how today’s artists are navigating self-quarantining, and the wider pandemic. 

“Art is one of the world’s great unifiers, and in times like these, it is the mission of the national museum of modern art to look to our artists – those creating, at this very moment, the works that will live on and become a part of our collective memory.” So said Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Director Melissa Chiu at the launching of Artists in Quarantine, a global initiative that aims to capture the responses of contemporary international artists to the COVID-19 pandemic in their own voices. 

Artist Theaster Gates sparks the ongoing investigation of the months long quarantine on almost 100 fellow artists. “The goal of the project is to collect insights during a time when artists, like billions around the world, have had their daily lives and routines disrupted in extreme ways,” Gates said. “Artists in Quarantine will give the public unique insights into artists, art making, and artists’ perspectives.”

Besides Gates, artists included are Shirin Neshat, Christine Sun Kim, Ragnar Kjartansson, and Tony Oursler, along with additional contributions from Marilyn Minter, Kent Monkman, and Hank Willis Thomas.

The short diary-style videos about the impact of the global pandemic on artists, their art-making practices, and their views of the world will be offered across the museum’s social media channels and website on a twice-weekly basis. Look for the diary posts on the Hirshhorn’s Instagram (@hirshhorn) and YouTube channels (https://www.youtube.com/hirshhorn), and housed on the museum’s website (https://www.hirshhorn.si.edu/) as part of #HirshhornInsideOut.

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