Column: COVID challenges have sent our imaginations soaring says Michelle Sweeney

The renowned French painter Georges Braque – who knew a thing or two about producing art in adversity – once said great creativity comes out of restraint.

His wise words, spoken in wartime, resonate with us today in this most unpredictable and restrictive of times. So often, uncertainty is at the heart of the creative process.

Reports of Covid-19’s crippling effect on the cultural sector can make dispiriting reading, but OnFife has been discovering these past few months that imagination and ingenuity can serve our audiences well.

This pandemic was a plot twist no one saw coming, but, by listening to our customers, we’re reshaping the ways in which we engage with them. Now is an ideal time to re-evaluate our relationship with creativity and rediscover how culture enriches our lives.

Much has been written about the impact of Covid on theatres and, with the Adam Smith Theatre, Carnegie Theatre, Rothes Halls and Lochgelly Centre, we are no exception.

It remains a huge concern for us.

However, less has been mentioned about how the sector has responded.

Lockdown has opened new doors for us. When venues have shut, our services haven’t stopped. As house lights dimmed, our digital response, #ShineOnFife, was waiting in the wings, transforming the way we work; transferring events online and providing a vital human touch for those feeling cut off by Covid.

As the Kingdom’s biggest cultural organisation, we’ve been here for our community throughout, bringing it together – to laugh, learn and dream a little too.

Through the wonders of technology, we’ve been offering the brightest and best in creativity, entertainment, learning and community support.

We’ve teamed up with cultural colleagues across the world to bring fantastic entertainment to the people of Fife, sharing shows from the National Theatre, Andrew Lloyd Webber, the Met Opera and Cirque du Soleil, to name a few.

Closer to home, online engagement with our local studies collections and historical archives is soaring, We’re even making some history of our own, recording people’s Covid experiences to create a lasting record of these times.

OnFife Libraries is still very much an open book.

A Book Blethers group offers face to face chat, our Fifeanory Stories are full of fun and our much-loved Bookbug sessions for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers have been booming.

Our galleries team have turned online engagement into an art form. Painting tutorials, exhibition previews, and craft sessions are wowing audiences, and Fife Art Exhibition 2020, with its coast and waters theme, was pure box office magic!

So too were events that were part of Book Week Scotland and our family fun festival, where bestselling authors Julia Donaldson and Shaun Bythell guested.

And there’s more to come.

Our first online comedy café, with three top acts, is set for January 29 and plans for an online Fife Spring Festival continue apace.

But it’s about caring as well as culture.

When our libraries closed, we knew many older lenders would miss the contact they get from popping in - so, we’ve been making regular phone calls to them to check everything’s okay via our OnFifeCares initiative.

And, from now to March, we’re hosting three artists’ residencies to reach out to groups who, because of Covid-19, face barriers to accessing key resources.

These are shining examples of connecting with audiences in ways we might not otherwise have imagined.

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One year on, our understanding of our customers’ needs has been enhanced immeasurably. For example, we are creating additional curriculum support through our online LibrarYAY group for families home schooling again. Our customers, in turn, are being reassured that we’re still here to offer support and cultural sustenance.

And I have a real sense that we’re all on the same page.

Ninety per cent of people who’d bought tickets for last year’s panto, have transferred their tickets to this year.

That’s an incredible show of support for our teams who’ve worked so hard.

So, strange as it might seem, we find ourselves in a good place - and, despite the uncertainty, new possibilities continue to present themselves.

We’ve secured £250,000 from Creative Scotland’s Performing Arts Venue Relief Fund, which enables us to curate more great online content and support local creatives.

We’ve also become a distributor of the Youth Arts Small Grant Fund on behalf of Creative Scotland. The £50,000 fund helps creative practitioners engage in a variety of work with young people and it’s a great opportunity for us to build relationships.

And there’s more.

A £24,500 award from the SCVO Wellbeing fund has helped us provide children with Wonderboxes filled with creative activities and ideas.

The award also supported our home book delivery service for adults. As part of a national pilot, funding from the Public Library Improvement Fund will also be helping us analyse data so that we can engage with and develop our library customers as a key priority.

We can’t wait to get back to real time engagement with customers.

It’s virtually impossible to match the intensity of live theatre online, and nothing remotely comes close to the thrill of seeing a museum artefact in real life. Until that day comes, we’ll be here for the people of Fife.

The steps we’re taking during this crisis will guide our path when it’s over.

Creativity, data, digital and community engagement are enabling us to be more intuitive, responsive and better able to engage with our audiences.

And that, despite – or maybe because of – the constraints we face, has given birth to a whole new set of programme possibilities.

And, it has set our imaginations soaring.

Our columns are a platform for writers to express their opinions. They do not necessarily represent the views of The Fife Free Press.