Artists During Pandemic Days: “We Will Come Out of Today with a New Perception”

Like art institutions, artists also go through rough days due to culture and arts activities being stopped by Coronavirus measures. We talked with the Artist Support Platform established under the leadership of musician Hüseyin Aygün together with the composer and songwriter Can Kazaz and actor Yiğit Sertdemir on what Coronavirus days will bring for the art world. Although the artists are both spiritually and financially anxious, they believe that the pressure of today will be replaced by new creations, excitement and by a system free from old mistakes.

“I Believe We Will Go Through A Second Renaissance”
Composer and songwriter Can Kazaz explained how the measures taken during the epidemic days affected his musical work and the music world in general. Kazaz says: “Just as renaissance started a hundred years after the black plague, I believe that we will experience a second renaissance relying on the speed of the information flow if we act correctly after surviving this process.” Kazaz has a project consisting of online concerts to provide financial support to the musicians he works with. It is possible to get the details of the project from this address. (bu)

How was your work affected by this process? What manifestations will and will be among your artistic production except that your possibilities of performing as an artist today have been limited?

I am currently in the process of producing a new album. The arrangement, recording and production stages coincided with the outbreak although all the songs were certain. We postponed our video clip to an unknown date and we had to change our plan completely. Apart from that, we all are going through a serious psychological test including all people who work with me, like everyone else does. Since my production is a process that requires intensive intuition and deep focus, I had to slow down in this crisis period. Nevertheless, I take great care in keeping everyone in my team and myself in balance to get the best results.

There is also a problematic economic face of the days we are in, and we see that the financial crisis is at the door for art producers. At this point, you started online concerts to offer financial support to your teammates. Can you give us some information about this important project?

It would be more accurate to say that I started looking for financial support from the public to perform online concerts. Because I haven’t been on an online concert yet. Just like those who buy concert tickets will have the chance to listen to me if everything was normal, I have now offered a transparent plan to those who want to watch digital concerts which I will distribute the whole income to my colleagues. I will not be getting anything for myself, because they are people who have been with me for a long time in all conditions and made the concert real. I owe a duty of loyalty to them and in return I will make an individual effort and produce value. If the efforts would be requited, it will be an HD YouTube live stream. In addition, I offer options of signed CD gifts, backstage invitations to my first concert after the epidemic, and online song writing lessons. The most accurate and detailed information is also on the Patreon webpage of the campaign.

Would musicians struggling with economic difficulties in general come together and look for a common solution on how to proceed after this epidemic?

At the moment, culture and arts are not vital for anyone. Therefore, the culture and art industry is abandoned the first in such crisis periods. It is very painful that like any sector that has a diverse, uniform and fragile system, non-digital culture and arts branches will go bankrupt. Actors with high economic strength will be weakened and those that have established “anti-fragile” systems will go on. Unfortunately, musicians, NGOs and the state do not have the maturity, vision, knowledge and accumulation to look for a way out of this crisis. We are as if we are wearing a seat belt when the plane is crashing. The only thing that could be done was not getting on the plane you knew would fall, or listening to those who said that this plane would fall.

What kind of a scene do you expect in the post-epidemic music environment? Would there be any losses in concert halls and live music venues? Do online concerts increase, can a trend towards digital sharing be observed? To sum up, can the world come out of quarantine days with new artist and art audience trends?

The world seems to come out of this crisis with an aesthetic perception. The perception of art and aesthetics seems to be going through very serious changes, but how it will change depends on what we do as artists. The number of online concerts would increase, but I would be very surprised if there will be a carrier method. Because people have seen that it is possible as they were left desperate, but they will come out of this process unwillingly to do what they did during this time because it will remind them of these bad days. They will want to experience a performance in an atmosphere by seeing and connecting with the artist with a sound system that they would never be able to receive from their phones or computers, they will socialize, they will experience the happiness of being in sync with other people. None of these experiences are possible among the digital environment in the near future. Very powerful VR or AR systems are required for this, although we can imagine it for now, we are not even close to such a system or such habits at the moment.

The concert and festival industry will die quickly, but for the reasons I just mentioned, it will come back as quickly. Most concert halls will go down or suffer serious quality losses. For actors, the cards will be redistributed. Depending on the weight of the economic scene, festivals may not be held for a while, as you said, the priority will be on local bands, and the reason will be the process of recovering costs and logistics problems in the world. In terms of artists, the difference in value between managers who “organize concerts” and managers who have a holistic approach and career management perspective will emerge.

Lastly, what would you like to say?

In this process, I try to go easy. Instead of falling into romanticism and doing the first thing that comes to mind, I always think about what I can do on providing social benefit. On the other hand, I am in an intensive production process, and I also told myself this when I started this business: I will make music even if I muddle around. I will continue to offer my contribution to music. Just as a renaissance started a hundred years after the black plague, I believe that we will experience a second renaissance if we act right after surviving this process, relying on the speed of the information flow. I wish patience, health and well-being to everyone.

“We Will Enter A Period In Which Both The Producer And The Buyer Will Transform”

Although the theater group Kumbaracı50 closed its doors within the scope of the Coronavirus measures, it broadcasts on Youtube under the title of “The Door Is Left Open” (youtube üzerinden). Actor, director and writer and one of the founders of the theater Yiğit Sertdemir says: “Inevitably, we will enter a period in which the perspective of both producers and buyers will change. We will take a similar journey to the developing genres and trends after all the traumatic processes and bring new creations to the audience. I wait for that meeting moment with curiosity and enthusiasm like all of us.”

One of the areas that coronavirus epidemic measures most affected was culture and arts. What has Kumbaracı50 done in this process, what measures did it take, can you share it briefly?

In fact, we started taking measures by canceling our plays before any cases were seen and before the theater activities were officially stopped, like most of the theaters. I think no one could have acted otherwise as the possible consequences of an outbreak were known and predicted because of what happened in other countries. Then, like everyone else, we had suspended the shows until the problem will be solved. Apart from our broadcasts, which we also limited the number of people, we did not take anyone in to the theater. After that, we change into home broadcasts. So we did the only thing we could do physically, we ended the physical togetherness. Although we share our ideas about how the season will continue and on what we can do during this process, it is not a predictable time. We also talk about the possibilities and try to evaluate what we can do. For now, all we can do to get through this process is to stop. I think most of the theaters are in the same way.

Many art institutions and artists verged to meet with the audience through online and free platforms. You started a broadcast on Youtube under the name of “The Door Is Open”. On the other hand, the scene has a very problematic economic face as well, we see that a financial crisis is at the door for art producers. What will be the ways to overcome the financial problems that are likely to fall to the culture and art environment?

Unfortunately, the financial aspect is very serious. Theaters will remain closed for at least 7 months. The answer to the question of how the theaters whose economic problems are already quite heavy can survive after such a vacancy is an answer that we are all after. It is not possible for theaters to get over this process alone. While we are already requesting tax regulations, we are now facing a more serious situation. In this context, the search for solutions continues, especially with the Theater Cooperative. There are some expected and requested supports by the state. We will see how much of it will be realized in the process. In addition, the difficulty experienced by the theaters with spaces is very high. Items such as rent payments can be overcome with negotiations with the owners, but it would also be a temporary solution. We would like to expect to draw a similar path on aid issues similar to the examples abroad, but the reality of this expectation is open to question. Negotiations and solutions are also sought together with non-governmental organizations, but this part of a crisis that has surrounded the whole country is necessarily tangled. While it is a genuine way to wait for the support of the audience, considering that the economic problems are reflected in every household, this would not definitely be a long-term solution. At the moment, it is best to demand and draw a path through formations such as the Theater Cooperative or the Actors’ Union, and currently this is what has been done. Hopefully it will be possible to find a way.

What kind of view do you expect in the post-epidemic culture and art environment? Although it seems unlikely for theaters, can a trend towards digital sharing be observed in other art branches? Can the world come out of quarantine days with new artist and art audience trends?

It is not possible for our creations not to be affected by this process. Especially on such a period that globally affects and standardizes everyday life and eliminates borders, it will not be surprising to create unfamiliar resolutions that differ. We do not have any expectations from digital broadcasts, apart from strengthening our connection with the audience and doing good to each other. But it seems that it will affect the production. Inevitably, we will enter a period in which the perspectives of both producers and buyers will change. The agentship of theaters will become much more important and effective. The audience’s demands will evolve in more similar ways than ever. We will see what happens and we will surely continue to produce. Perhaps we will consider this as an opportunity to find new languages as well as new methods. We will take a similar journey to the developing genres and trends after all the traumatic processes and bring new creations to the audience. I wait for that meeting moment with curiosity and enthusiasm like all of us.”

We are in a long process where we need to be good for each other. I hope the healing and reconciling power of art will continue to be good for all of us…

 “We Need To Start Off As Soon As Possible In Order To Fix The Mistakes”

Hüseyin Aygün, the founder of the Artist Support Platform, explained how and for what purpose they came together and what they did for the artists during the pandemic days. Aygün says: “Unfortunately, we have an unattended profession and a community in general. In other words, we have not gathered under one roof such as associations, unions or federations and applied to places for our rights and have not guaranteed ourselves. I think we thought we would not need anything else from the money we earn daily. It is necessary to think about what to do next and to start off as soon as possible.”

First of all, can we get to know the Artist Support Platform? How did you come together, what have you been doing?

Artist Support Platform was established on March 18, 2020 with the aim of uniting artists, by experiencing unity, togetherness and support. I’ve been thinking about it and wanted to create it from the beginning, because it was a need among our musical community. While transferring our art from the stage to people, I saw that we were divided within ourselves. We prioritize making a career and earning money, I can say that I am also involved in that. I’ve founded this platform because I thought I could fix this system. How did we come together? We tried hard, we made calls to our friends on social media and called them to the telegram group, which is also a social media application. We made calls such as: “There is no good or bad here! There Is No Good Quality Here! ”, and our friends joined us. Actually, artists are very sensitive, well-intentioned, emotional people, they did not turn us down. Even though the idea came out of me, even though I was the one who founded this platform, I had many friends who were with me in the process who supported me. Here, we talk, discuss, exchange ideas and add value to each other. So we are doing what we have neglected so far.

What has the Artist Support Platform done for support purposes during the epidemic process and what does it plan to do, can you share it briefly?

Because of Covid19, we are locked down in our homes with the state’s “stay home” call and this was the right time for us to set up this platform because everyone would be home. At this time, we provided each other with unity, cooperation and support. We said if we had two packs of pasta we would even share it with each other and that was what we did in our platform. On our platform, people greet each other, talk to each other and discuss. This was something we wanted and we’ve managed it. As for the help, it is not possible for us to come up with much, since we are the ones who need it. Our state already has aid programs. We’ve only talked to the municipalities, businessmen and NGOs and sent emails and said that we wanted to be recognized as musicians and artists. Video were shot and presented to the media, we just wanted them to know. Our calls were listened to and they gave priority to us as musicians and artists. We always say we are as rich as we work, and therefore we are people who work and spend daily. There are too many projects among our goals. We can realize these after these hard times pass. At the moment, we aim to grow only without breaking our togetherness.

How are people interested in your platform? Do you think that you are well known, or that sufficient financial support is coming? What kind of feedback do you get? How are the musicians interested on the platform?

First of all, our platform is open to artists and to everyone artistic. In fact, we expect a lot financially but Covid19 is an extreme situation among the world and the world was caught unprepared unfortunately, everyone like us is much victimized. We only want them to see and not forget us. We don’t have much expectation, we only want them to consider that we work daily, that we don’t have any pensions or insurance, and we work for daily wages. The reactions and interest are very good. We are being followed, there are many people behind us that support us. We have proven artists, musicians and soloists in Turkey. Their support makes us happy and they lead us, thanks to all of them. We are now close to 5,000 people on 2 platforms, and none of them are fake, they are all real people.

Does your work cover provinces outside Ankara? Do you also plan to help other art branches besides music?

First of all, I would like to clarify this through your platform. The Artist Support Platform is not a platform that can create help on its own. As I’ve mentioned earlier, we have mediated the prioritization of the already available aids for musicians and artists in such an extreme situation. The main purpose of our platform is togetherness, to add values to each other about our art and our future goals. We’ve started in Ankara, but now we are all over Turkey. Art has no limits, the artist is everywhere. Therefore, we are trying to reach our artist friends in every part of our country and we succeed at that. Even a motor mechanic is an artist, if we open this concept, many professions can be included, but we are talking more of stage artists here. Among us are dancers, theater actors, actors, DJs, etc. Of course, we also have friends dealing with performing arts.

What kind of culture and art policies should be followed so that artists can get out of these extraordinary conditions with the least damage?

This is the primary concern. We have established this platform for this reason. Unfortunately, we have an unattended profession and a community in general. In other words, we have not gathered under one roof such as associations, unions or federations and applied to places for our rights and have not guaranteed ourselves. I think we thought we would not need anything else from the money we earn daily. We direct our friends here and we will continue to do so. Of course, among us there are also the heads of the organizations I’ve mentioned, we are doing consultations, and we exchange ideas. It is necessary to think about what to do next and to start off as soon as possible.