Holding Patterns is a collaborative documentary project that showcases the lives of 22 women during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring of 2020.
Spread over 14 different countries, on 6 continents, we use photography, video, and audio recordings, to describe our daily routines, our emotions and our reactions to the lockdowns and their effects. Holding Patterns has kept us busy, distracted, creative. We hope that our stories form a sort of time capsule to look back on when this time has long been forgotten.
We each come from different cultural and professional backgrounds; we are not professional artists or photographers. Single, mother of two, working from home, unemployed, stranded abroad, stuck at home. Regardless of our varied circumstances, when looking through our material, patterns emerge. What brought us together was the idea for this body of work; what connects us is our common experiences.
The term “holding pattern” metaphorically refers to a state of waiting or suspended activity or progress. The name Holding Patterns applies to us because our lives were all put on hold to some extent, plans postponed, and future uncertain. In this project we describe how we and our communities have been “holding” during this time, still uncertain of where, how, or when we will land.
Holding Patterns is a self-funded artistic initiative, led by Sylvia Kouveli. The curation process has been supported by Anja Eichler, Penny Papachristodoulou, and Emma Shapiro. Apart from creating an audiovisual time capsule, it has also managed to connect the lives of people around the world and motivate them during an unprecedented, difficult time.
Sylvia and the entire team would greatly appreciate any donation that will help cover the practical costs of putting Holding Patterns together. Please use the PayPal Donate button below for a suggested donation of €5 or any other amount you wish, to help us reach the €… goal. Please see below the expenses breakdown.
Any additional funds collected from donations will go to the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Read more about it at https://covid19responsefund.org/
Expenses Breakdown
TOTAL: €446,51
Domain registration: €12.38 / 2 yrs
Hosting service: €122.40 / 1 yr
Security certificate: €36.88 / 1 yr
Website design: €209.35
Network administration: €65.50
Donations received (updated: 20/05/2021)
TOTAL: €55