Pandemic Pause: A Look Back On 2020

   Rochester Art Collectors is alive and well even if the organization is operating at a very low level of activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

   On March 13, 2020 Rochester Art Collectors halted all its programs through the spring and most of the summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, we were very disappointed to postpone the launch of our new fantasy art collecting social media game, The Red Dot Challenge. (More on The Red Dot Challenge below.) Since March we have promoted just two Rochester Art Collectors programs.

   In August, during a lull in the pandemic, we co-sponsored and helped to promote the very first Pittsford Art Walk event. Five commercial galleries located in the Village of Pittsford organized an indoor/outdoor festival highlighting their galleries and celebrating their artists. Galleries moved some the art work they were promoting onto the the sidewalks and under tents. Hundreds of people swarmed up and down the streets of the Village that week in August. The event was a big success. As a result, we suspect there will be more Pittsford Art Walk events in the future.

   The pandemic numbers remained very low in the early part of the fall. So, in late in October we organized a program with Deborah Ronnen Fine Art and R1 Studios to offer collectors a chance to experience their pop-up exhibit, KOTA EZAWA: Taking a Knee. Unlike the Pittsford Art Walk program we had a very limited number of timed tickets in order to keep our participants safe.

   Luckily, Rochester Art Collectors has a very low operating budget. We are an all-volunteer group. So, as disappointing as our pandemic pause has been, staying viable hasn't been a heavy lift. You might ask, "What's next?"

   Rochester Art Collectors will slowly emerge over time to provide programs as the pandemic wanes. We will do so with careful consideration and with the most appropriate safeguards until society is out of peril.

   A principle element of our fantasy art collecting game, The Red Dot Challenge, involves in-person visits to venues that present art for sale. As a result, The Red Dot Challenge, too will have to wait until the pandemic passes.

   Unfortunately, we do not know exactly when we can begin to schedule programs or when we can launch The Red Dot Challenge. Rest assured, however, we WILL return and our programs WILL reappear. Stay tuned!