Creativity vs. COVID: Ending the Pandemic for Good

A grid of project thumbnails, all calling for a People's Vaccine for Covid-19
A selection of projects from the Free the Vaccine for Covid-19 collective that are included in Creativity vs. COVID: Ending the Pandemic for Good.
Free the Vaccine for Covid-19. web. 2020-2022.

Scienceworks hands-on museum, Ashland, or. 2020-2021.

University of Maryland, College Park, MD. 2021.

Intermedia Programs, university of maine, orono, me. 2021.

Herron Galleries, Indiana University IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN. 2021.

Chatham University, Pittsburgh, PA. 2021.

From the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, groups around the world began calling for a People’s Vaccine: safe and effective, available and affordable for all. This exhibition shares creative work from Free the Vaccine for Covid-19, an international collective of students, artists, and access to medicine advocates that worked to make publicly funded tests, treatments, and vaccines for Covid-19 available to everyone, no matter where they live or how much money they have. Creativity vs. COVID featured parody music videos, documentation of public performances, poster designs, participant interviews, and more. In doing so, it introduced audiences to key issues that limit access to medicine and provided robust methods anyone can use to advocate for change from anywhere, even at a time of social distancing.

Creativity vs. COVID was developed as flexible exhibition that could be presented online, in person, or as a combination of the two. Part archive, part display, it grew as people continued using creative methods to advocate for equitable access to medicines in the fight against Covid-19.

Creativity vs. COVID is a collaborative project. The exhibit development team, led by Laura Holzman, included Merith Basey, Rebecca Bray, Julia Briggs, Jeff Crouse, Beth Dunlap, Stacy Early, Steve Lambert, Dannie Snyder, and Simbie Yau, with additional contributions from other Free the Vaccine participants and advisors. Free the Vaccine is organized by Universities Allied for Essential Medicines and The Center for Artistic Activism.