56 Bitef: “We - the Heroes of Our Own Labour“
After two very trying years of deaths, health problems, depression, isolation, new and often completely inadequate ways of working and living, this spring offered a glimmer of hope that the coronavirus pandemic is finally behind us. Be that as it may, the consequences will be with us for a long time. When we talk about them, we usually consider the health consequences but neglect the equally serious economic and social factors. It was during the pandemic that we drew the distinction between “essential” and “non-essential” professions for the first time, dividing them into those we cannot live without and those, allegedly, that we can - a twisted approach inevitably placing the artistic professions in the latter group. For some of us, working remotely from home was an intellectual challenge, or seen as something less than real work but was, and still is, a minor problem compared to the loss of jobs and proper working conditions, forced upon millions of people around the world.
