The source of the issue is complex, yet can be blamed almost squarely on virality. COVID-19 or more commonly the Coronavirus has affected almost everyone at this point, though mostly indirectly. It is extremely unlikely that anyone reading this hasn't had some aspect of normal life affected in some way. Our society has arguably never faced a challenge like this. Whether we are facing it well is debatable, but we are certainly in uncharted territory.
This uncharted territory is not only facing the pandemic but as it aligns with modern workforces who fit into the 'gig' economy, people's livelihoods are at stake. As much of the world is "shutting down" to increase physical distance, we need to be mindful of those whose employment has been cancelled along with those events you were looking forward to.
This was inspired by a video that Chris Neto @chris_neto posted to Periscope. His video had a clear message: The men and women working in #LiveEvents Rental and Staging are currently in a state of limbo. Broadway is closed. Tradeshows are cancelled or rescheduled. Live sports has hit the pause button. With those closures, gigs vanish. Many of us are concerned over busy event calendars in the fall from displaces tradeshows. But that is trivial when held up against not knowing when the next paycheck before fall might come in.
I am not sure if I can make a difference by doing this, but I can't turn away. AV is my industry and part of that team is in trouble. When part of your team needs help, you do what you can to lift them up. We need to find ways to help. And so for now, I write.
