With most of the focus during the pandemic on finding a cure through science and medicine, it can be easy to question whether art is even necessary right now. But, the truth of the matter is, art - whether visual or performing - has a profound role in helping to tell the human stories that science can't, and introduces hope where it may not have been obvious.

We speak with a theater director helping kids continue to have an outlet for their creativity, a Charlottesville photographer taking "porchraits" to reintroduce some conversation and capture life in the moment, an opera singer in Seattle belting out Nessun Dorma over a loudspeaker to his neighborhood, and a digital illustrator from Richmond who is using his medium to highlight the often forgotten people who have recovered from the coronavirus.

Links & Resources:

• DMR Adventures (https://www.dmradventures.com/)
• C'ville Porch Portraits (cvilleporchportraits@gmail.com / https://www.instagram.com/cvilleporchraits/)
• A Drawing Table (https://www.instagram.com/adrawingtable/)