The Immunisation Coalition is proud to support A Shared Step on a Long Journey: The International COVID-Collaborations Folio 2020-2021. This project was initiated by artist William Kelly in association with 28 artists and poets from around the world, in the midst of international COVID-19 lockdowns.
View the video here:
View the individual artworks here.
Using William’s initial image, artists then added their own thoughtful concerns…home as a place of isolation, sanctuary and, sometimes, anxiety; the dire circumstances faced by many First Nations people and people of colour; evocative images of hope, respect, and aspirations. In this time of our ‘separateness’, they show we are here together whether in Tehran, New York, Melbourne, Geneva, Oklahoma City, Haut-Valromey, or Casablanca. Though isolated by the pandemic, they show with grace and dignity…we are closer than ever.
Professor Peter Doherty has said he shares “…Alfred Nobel’s conviction that war is the greatest of all human disasters. Infectious disease runs a good second.” Elevated now are the real ‘heroes’ on the ‘front lines’ – not with guns, tanks and bombs – but with life-saving skills shared across borders, religions and ideologies. Though we may reflect on the words that ‘everyman’s death diminishes me’, we now have learned to celebrate that every person’s survival is a victory for us all.