If you’re a Rush fan, then you get the above reference. For the uninitiated, the Temples of Syrinx are a fictitious set of structures referenced in the song 2112 and created by mankind in a dystopian future where all traces of art are lost to humanity – until a boy discovers a guitar behind a waterfall, that is. My thoughts drifted toward the temples of Syrinx this week as I reflected on this pandemic, and the groups that have been hit especially hard by it.

Prominent among those groups are artists of all kinds. See, artists have been hit doubly hard by COVID. Sucker punch number one: physical artists like dancers, musicians and martial artists haven’t been able to make a proper living doing what they do. These arts require people to gather together, and we just haven’t been able to do that.

Sucker punch number two is that many of these artists can’t even produce their art to sell. If you’re a travel photographer, for example, you’re probably having a hard time taking the kinds of shots you’re accustomed to right now.

The reason these things had me thinking about the Temples of Syrinx is that, because of this pandemic, it’s likely that a lot of really good, talented artists are going to be out of work, taking an insane amount of artistic skill and knowledge with them. I hope that the effect isn’t permanent, but for some it likely will be.

Now that’s not to say that we’re going to move to a world where there is no art (though school boards have been talking for a while about removing arts from their curriculums, which to me is complete madness). But it does mean that, if we don’t do something, a huge number of really gifted artists are going to struggle more than many of us through this pandemic and beyond.

I’m lucky enough to know a great many artists, and I know they’re having a hard time right now. My dad is a solo musician. My karate sensei’s entire livelihood is built around teaching martial arts in his dojo, which he can’t do right now. And I have friends in the culinary arts who are out of work for the time being.

It kills me to hear these stories, because I know how talented each and every one of these people are. For them, work isn’t just a job – it’s life. These artists are teaching us how to live and enhancing what it means to be alive. Art is part of what it means to be human – we’re the only species on Earth to create it.

Now wasn’t meant as a soapbox thing… but if you’re curious, there’s some great content out there on how you can support struggling artists through these tough times. Most of it isn’t even monetary… so if you have a sec, give this page a read.

Wrapping it Up

I know that a pandemic won’t take us as far as a world without art, and thank god, because that’s not a world I want to be a part of. But it does mean that, without a helping hand (or our know, several thousand helping hands), many incredibly-talented artists may be forced to hang up their gloves in order to make ends meet. I don’t want to see that reality take hold. There is too much beautiful talent in this world, and if we can help even a fraction of them keep doing what they do, which in essence is to bring joy and to stir the hearts and minds of others, then to me that’s worth doing.

What do you say?