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We all know the Arts and Entertainment worlds have been extremely hard hit during the Coronavirus pandemic this year. As we look toward the Christmas and holiday season, we wanted to highlight the ways we can help support each other and patronise independent artists when looking for Christmas gifts this year.
We’ve previously highlighted some wonderful organisations that are championing small businesses, especially those of theatre creatives and artists who have been affected by the Covid crisis. Hubs such as NotOnTheWestEnd are fantastic because all of the businesses in this directory are owned by someone who usually makes their living working in UK theatre.
NotOnTheWestEnd are even hosting virtual Christmas markets, and have dedicated pages for Christmas gift ideas that are well worth checking out.
Another fabulous resource that works in a similar vein is Mise en Scène. Mise en Scène is a multi-faceted endeavour. The biggest part is an online marketplace for sustainably sourced, one of a kind goods created by theatre artists. Stemming from the marketplace is the blog, which will explore the intersection of theatre, sustainability and the artist’s craft with consumer culture, current trends and social practices. The last three facets of this little gem are under development – an artist resource platform and educational curriculum sharing page, an arts and artist appreciation page, and a crowd-source mentoring program for theatre professionals at any stage in their careers.
If you’re looking to buy ‘an experience’ over a traditional gift, why not consider purchasing some lessons this Christmas? Conversely, why not offer some lessons as gifts? For those looking to setup a teaching business, Empowering The Artist is a virtual teaching platform that is home to experts who teach across all kinds of subjects and fields. The site is secure and handles scheduling and payment, and makes the entire process extremely easy.
Musicians are another sector in the Arts community who have been unable to get out there to earn this year. If you want to support an independent artist, think about purchasing CDs, Vinyl or merchandise from your favourite acts to make unique Christmas gifts. Most artists sell via their websites or Bandcamp page, and will definitely be glad of a boost at Christmas.
If you’re looking to stay away from corporate and mass-produced goods this year, but don’t know many local people or places to support then why not check out online stores within Etsy and Depop?
Etsy is a great site because it’s made for independent sellers only, so you know that your money is going where it should be. The Christmas gifts categories mean that you can even order personalised items, or browse by traditional categories such as ‘for her’.
Depop is much the same as Etsy in style and philosophy, except that it is for clothes. If you’re looking for a ‘one-off’ or unique vintage piece, then you should absolutely see what Depop has to offer.
Depop is the fashion marketplace app where the next generation come to discover unique items. With a global community buying, selling and connecting to make fashion more inclusive, diverse and less wasteful. This is what transforming fashion looks like.
While Christmas 2020 is looking like it will be a little different for us all this year, we can work to support each other in these small ways, and make it a good one.
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Michelle is a musician and composer from the UK. She has performed across the UK and Europe and is passionate about arts education and opportunities for women and girls.
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