Desai, D., Solomon, N.B. & Charnley, A. Communiars. 4. 2020: 48-52 // 49
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.12795/Communiars.2020.i04.09 · COMMUNIARS · 4 · 2020. ISSN 2603-6681
Resumo:
Dipti Desai assina a Reflexão XIX. Desai é professora de arte e educação artística de referência no campo
da educação artística em contextos ativistas, diretora do Programa Arte+Educação no Departamento
de Artes e Profissões Artísticas da Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Humanities, New York
University. Reflexão XX é desenvolvido por Naisha B. Solomon e Amanda Charnley, estudantes de
pós-graduação do programa Arte, Educação e Prática Comunitária do Departamento de Artes e
Profissões Artísticas da Escola de Cultura, Educação e Desenvolvimento Humano da New York
University.
Palavras-chave: COVID-19. Artes. USA. Símbolo. Diversidade. Mixtape.
Reflection XIX (Reflectiong on COVID-19 Rainbows)
In late March, after the stay at home order was announced by Governor Cuomo, rainbows and
rainbow colors on apartment windows increasingly dotted our visual landscape in New York
City. Each day on my walks, I see new rainbows emerge on windows in my building complex
made by children and adults. The rainbow and the rainbow colors are a symbol of hope amid
the coronavirus pandemic. I recently learnt that it was first seen in Italy and now is a global
visual culture image that connects people across the globe. Seeing the hand drawn or paper
cut out rainbows provides a sense of community as we are all in this lockdown together.
Another image that I see often is the text based, Thank You and Smile that remind us to seek
pleasure during this time of anxiety and uncertainty, as well as never allowing us to forget the
tremendous work healthcare and other essential workers, such as those who delivery food,
run our public transportation systems, and work in grocery stores do each day for us, during
this pandemic.
Looking at these simple visual gesture does provide me with solace and relief tinged with joy
that our sense of community has not been totally eroded in the United States. Seeing these
rainbows of hope also connects to the issue of diversity as the rainbow is a symbol that
celebrates sexual diversity, becoming a symbol of the LGBTQ movement in the 1970s that
incorporated the colors of the rainbow on their flag. I am also reminded that Archbishop
Desmond Tutu in South Africa coined the term “rainbow nation” to describe the diversity
among its population when apartheid was dismantled, signalling a new beginning for the
country. In spite of these symbols of hope and solidarity, I am troubled by the divisions and
hatred against the “other” (non-white) that has increased under President Trump. The
racialization of the coronavirus by Trump calling it a “Chinese disease” is particularly felt by
the Asian American community and the number of racist attacks against Asian Americans has
increased tremendously since the coronavirus epidemic landed on our shores. The
coronavirus has also disproportionately affected and killed African-American, Indigeneous
people and Latinx people in comparison to the whites. My thoughts lead me to think about
how the hopeful symbol of the rainbow can be transformed to become a symbol of social action
that works to challenge racism and social class inequalities in our country and world, which
COVID-19 has made glaringly visible everyday in our newspapers and media. And, how do
we challenge the images of blatant racist signs held by white supremacy protesting the COVID
lockdown across our country.