Artist Support Pledge: Supporting Artists Through the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 Pandemic has been tough for industries and individuals worldwide. From hospitality to manufacturing, millions of jobs and livelihoods have been put at risk. The arts sector has been no exception, with galleries closed and exhibitions indefinitely postponed. Collectors are finding it hard to view works, and many artists don't have the physical representation they had just three months ago.

Conceived by British artist Matthew Burrows in March 2020, the Artist Support pledge is a global movement that aims to help artists through the difficult time of COVID-19. The project urges artists to post their images on Instagram using #artistsupportpledge, and interested buyers can DM the artist directly. The pieces must be no more than £200 (excluding shipping), and every time an artist reaches £1,000 of sales, they pledge to buy £200 of work from another artist.

The movement gives artists a platform to sell their work, and increased visibility when many exhibitions and fairs are on hold. Equally, it gives collectors the opportunity to purchase affordable pieces by a wide variety of artists, and help the artists through tough economic times. In its first month alone, #artistsupportpledge generated around £15 million of sales, with around 76,500 works made available on Instagram. Bravo Matthew Burrows!

The life of an artist is a solitary one anyway, but the enforced isolation, lack of available materials, and general mental strain, on top of my recovery from an accident and surgery at the end of 2019, has been tougher than usual. I can't begin to say how much it has helped me: it has given me a focus - honing my skills on smaller, more concentrated pieces; accessing a larger collector-base; and ultimately funding my lockdown lifestyle (which consists of eating, sleeping and painting!).

I have added a page onto my website with all my Artist Support Pledge pieces - all of which are £195 including free global shipping. Please email me for more details, or if you wish to purchase a piece, at awatt.art@gmail.com, or send me a DM to my Instagram acccount.