With the current outbreak of COVID-19, we’re experiencing crazy times that affect the cultural field in many ways. Museums and galleries are closed, festivals postponed and projects canceled. Just like you and me, artists are stuck at home. However, that doesn’t stop them from creating and providing you with your daily dose of art. Support their creativity and help your local artist survive these quarantine times!

1. Studio Mo Man Tai – DIY Rainbow

Mo Man Tai is the design studio founded by Ulrike Jurklies. Studio Mo Man Tai wants to cheer you up and will bring some color back into your life. The studio produced a do-it-yourself kit to build your own rainbow. The use of acrylic glass allows the sunlight to play with the reflection of color. Isn’t this the perfect gift to make your friends, family or colleagues happy? Interesting fact for the environmentally conscious: the rainbow is made of leftover material collected by PyraSied Xtreme Acrylic.

2. Multiple Artists – Drawings to stay inside for

Drawings to Stay Inside For is a book with drawings and activities for primary school kids. The goal of this book is to get them acquainted with art and to engage them in creating art themselves. Initiator Jelmer Konjo invited multiple artists to contribute to the book, varying from Nik Mart Tattooer to graphic design duo Vormlust and from illustrator Franky Sticks to visual art student Joost Vermeer. It is filled with coloring pictures and creative activities. Download Drawings to Stay Inside For on the website and share your creativity with the world!

3. Venster – Art postcards

Venster is an initiative to showcase artists that are less visible due to the closings of places where art normally can be enjoyed. Brothers Peter and Stephan van Meir came up with the idea to make postcards of the artworks, so you can send them to your loved ones in these difficult times. This way, artworks are still visible for art lovers and at the same time cheer them up.

4.Rotganzen – Limited Edition Quelle Fête Mini

While parties are being called off, Rotganzen thought of bringing the party to your home and made a smaller, limited edition of their signature melting disco ball. Unfortunately, the Limited Edition Quelle Fête Mini disco balls were sold out soon. Luckily, the webshop has something else to offer that makes our mouths water: Bouncy is a small chair or side table that reminds us of the playgrounds of our youth.

5. Sigrid Calon – New Book

Sigrid Calon made a new book full of her colorful and playful designs: RISO BOOK: SC_1/1_1/2_1/4_1/8. Initially it would have been launched in LA but that didn’t happen of course. Now she launched it on her own website and you can buy it there. In the book she worked with 8 forms and 8 colors, and made 120 compositions. As an homage to the grid, it discovers new forms and color combinations. Looks familiar? In 2018, Calon worked with Arttenders for an artwork in the Kalverpassage in Amsterdam, called Triangular Grid.

6. Multiple Rotterdam-based artists – Bedankt voor die bloemen

‘Bedankt voor die bloemen’ (Thanks for the flowers) is an art project by a group of 30 Rotterdam artists. There’s an online print sale with artworks in different mediums varying from photography to writing. Part of the revenue of this print sale goes to the Westland flower breeders who are facing difficult times right now. All art pieces cost €49,- and are A4-size. With works by Pim Top, Laura Schurink and Florian Borstlap, amongst others.

7. Iwan Smit – The 2200 sessions

Iwan Smits is going live on Instagram every night at 22:00 pm. In these live sessions he is drawing for 15-20 minutes in his atelier in Rotterdam. You can follow all his moves in creating drawings. Smits engages the viewer in the process of making a drawing which forms the basis for later artworks. This series of quarantine drawings will be bundled into a book. Support this project by donating on his website.

8. Studio Spass – puzzles

Puzzling is a renewed hobby that is flourishing in these times of staying at home. Studio Spass gave away 3 different puzzles based on their work. One of the puzzles was a picture of the project CIC x Arttenders Art at Work. Studio Spass designed the interior of the living room of the Cambridge Innovation Center office spaces in Rotterdam.

9. Pandemie Magazine

Pandemie Magazine is an initiative consisting of multiple young artists that want to kill the boredom in times of Corona. It is a printed magazine that can be bought for €12,50. The magazine is full of stories, illustrations, games, comics and puzzles. The first two issues of the magazine sold out very quickly, but on the 5^th of May the third issue came out, that can be ordered on Instagram.