Here’s What Artistes Say About the StayIN aLIVE Platform Helping them Through the Pandemic

by  Mugdha Gaonkar Industry Watch | December 11, 2020 | Feature

StayIN aLIVE

In the early days of the lockdown, a few arts and media organizations came together to address the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on the live arts space, where artistes were suffering due to lack of work. After a few days of ideating and debating, they curated StayIN aLIVE – a platform to support artistes. The aim of the initiative is to educate, inspire and support artistes and at the forefront of that is a commitment to cultivate best practices, encourage thought leadership, and become compassionate, yet impactful and sustained, and also be the voice of advocacy for government policies related to the live arts industry.

A collective comprising Kommune, Big Bang Music, Tabhrasa, Priyanka Khimani, KWAN, OML, The ArtX Company, Alok Parande, Paytm Insider, Shark & Ink, Tape A Tale, Artist Aadmi, Unmute, Women of India, Gully Gang and Tarsame Mittal Talent Management, StayIN aLIVE aims to build a long-term, sustainable platform for artistes to nurture, support and strengthen each other in the coming years.

Speaking about the initiative, Raghav Meattle, Core Committee Member of StayIN aLIVE, said, “I think StayIN aLIVE was conceived during the COVID crisis to figure out how badly it's affected the live performing arts industry. As an artiste living in Mumbai, I have seen most of my musician friends take drastic decisions in their life because their sole source of income - live gigs - had completely dried up. I'm so glad that we've managed to impact the lives of a few of these artistes and support them in these tough times.”

To know more about the actual benefit to artistes, EVENTFAQS Media connected with a few artistes supported by StayIN aLIVE.

Some artiste testimonials

“I was stuck in Mumbai during the lockdown and was literally in trauma, being away from family, having to do all the household work by myself and at the same time not having an income. At this time, I came across a form which spoke of an organisation that will help artistes in need. After the application process, I received a reply saying I'd be given a Rs 10,000 grant. I was ecstatic. It definitely did motivate me to stay put, be with my art, create until things get better and I am able to perform again. So, thank you so much StayIN aLIVE! You guys literally kept me alive! I am ever grateful. Thank you again!”

-Dancer

“Right now, I don’t have any projects. All projects are on hold due to lockdown. I was working as a creative director but now I do not even have that job. Radio is not running, dubbing is not going on, many writing projects are on hold, shooting has stopped and no one will give jobs. So support from StayIN aLIVE is most welcome.”

-Anonymous

“This fund has not only been my financial support, but also moral support to me and my entire career. My dream, which was a strong pillar of my life, was getting nowhere due to the lockdown, a lot of things were on the verge of ending because personally I had assumed that I would not be able to do anything. So, it is a big thing to bring back that confidence to live that dream.”

-Anonymous

“My experience with the StayIN aLIVE Fund has been very profound. It is like Sanjeevani. If this fund was not there, and I did not get a link to it in time, I might not have been in Mumbai today. I believe, in such circumstances, all the artistes who came in contact with StayIN aLIVE were very lucky.”

-Anonymous

“I would like to thank Stayin aLIVE and all the organizations working for it. My love to all. Keep working in the same way and keep encouraging art and artistes. Thanks once again to everyone working for StayIN aLIVE."

-Artiste

“The Rs 20,000 grant that I received from Stayin aLIVE helped me think, get back to work. It educated me and also helped me focus on my writing and creation, which led me to earn a living for myself.”

-Anonymous

(*The artistes had to remain anonymous due to strict privacy clauses in their contracts)