A State of Flux: A Young Leader's eye view of life in lockdown
by Aless Gibson “We live in uncertain times and our all may yet be taken from us. With enough plain food to satisfy my small appetite, a room to myself, books from a public library, pens and paper, I should regret nothing.”
W. Somerset Maugham
In a world where most of us are at least partially defined by our jobs, it is both daunting and relieving to have some of that pressure released through the past months of ‘lockdown.’
I have the luxury of being a student. If I take a day off work, nothing goes wrong. I miss a few lectures, but the world itself isn’t missing a piece.
And yet it’s thoughts like these that make me feel more, not less self-deprecating.
Before the lockdown I was always wanting for more time; to catch up with television, to return to playing videogames, to read more. Yet when that time came, I found myself continuing to procrastinate, waiting for something to happen or to do. One thing I still had though, through all this uncertainty, was my connection with Science Gallery.
Science Gallery London, as a cultural organisation and hub of creative and scientific thought, has had a brilliant run of events since opening in September 2018. Through HOOKED, SPARE PARTS, DARK MATTER, ON EDGE and most recently GENDERS, the Gallery aims to connect with its audience and show them a world they hadn’t imagined, expected, or seen in that way before.
So how does it deal with a situation external to itself that nobody has seen before?
Firstly, by responding directly to the situation and protecting the physical and mental health of its staff and the public; the Gallery shut its doors on the 16th March following the UK Government’s advice, alongside many other galleries and social spaces.
With a whole new way of working in place and a chance to pause and reflect on where the Gallery has come from and what more can be achieved, a period of great change may have begun.
How do we interact with people outside of the Gallery’s physical space? How can we take this knowledge of the arts and sciences, and everything else in-between, and convey that to a captive audience online?
Is it within our capability, and arguably is it our duty, to use this time to continue to explore art as a method to document, explain or address life, and science as a tool to appreciate the richness of what is happening around us?
I would like to believe so. This comes personally at a time that I have rekindled my creative side, and I’ve allowed myself to recognise how the evolving situation of the Covid-19 pandemic is making me feel and think about both myself and the wider world.
Not everyone is the same, of course, but look at the mediums that are successful, eye-catching or attention-drawing in moments like this. I’m seeing people engaging in creative interests and hobbies they’ve maybe held off until now, and friends in the creative industries experimenting with new online ways to deliver content (although that’s somewhat out of necessity also).
As one of Science Gallery London’s Young Leaders, I’ve been consulted repeatedly (but never intrusively) about what could be done next, with the Gallery as ever helping us think big about what the Young Leader development programme can achieve next. From podcasts to blogging, interviews and conversations, what do we want to use this time to learn? Or to achieve?
I believe in a Creative Revolution. Before you ask, no, I don’t know when it’s coming or what it looks like. But we exist in a world I see as limited by our own thinking. We teach in the same way we have for decades if not centuries, when the world around us has changed in my short lifetime. We look for the same characteristics and buzzwords and ignore the power of creativity, innovation, imagination.
The people at the forefront of healthcare, engineering, sciences and arts responding to this crisis right now are innovative, curious, creative thinkers. Others have been bold enough to create community networks and Mutual Aid groups; one of the first things I noticed after lockdown was formally announced was a medical student group called ‘National Health Supporters’ that had sprung up on Facebook. Perhaps when we get to the other side of this the powers that be will value rising ways of thinking and be able to reflect on their own behaviours.
Or maybe we’ll have the next Ed Sheeran.
Either way, some good has to come out of this. Right?
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Science Gallery London’s Young Leaders are a collection of young people who represent the incredible talent and diversity of our city, having specific experience of living, studying or working in our home boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth, or who are a student at King’s College London.
Aless, originally from Lancaster, is an undergraduate medical student at King’s who joined Science Gallery to bring science to the general public in an exciting, thought-provoking way. Interested in social issues from mental health to LGBTQ+ rights and education, and bringing a wealth of experience from Plan International’s Youth Advisory Panel and scientific study, she hopes to work with artists and young people to accessibly represent the world around us and encourage conversation.