A new art gallery of backgrounds has launched to add some fun to Zoom meetings and to support artists during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The background art has been designed by artists and can be downloaded from a site called Meeting Masterpieces, where people can also donate to the artist or charity of their choice.
Artists on Zoom
The project has been launched by New York-based strategic and creative transformation consultancy co:collective.
The site features work from a diverse array of talented artists. Each background is either a pre-existing piece from the artist or a new custom creation inspired by the word ‘work’.
Artists can either direct payments straight to their personal Venmo/Paypal accounts, or they can recommend a suggested charity donation.
“We realised that Zoom backgrounds are an opportunity to support artists in a new way while providing joy to those who are virtually living through Zoom calls”, Sam Hoffman and Joesephine Kim, the creative team at co:collective behind the site, said.
“Art gives solace, no matter the form.”
Supporting creatives
Ty Montague, co-CEO at co:collective, said “At co:collective, we always try to support the creative community; we wanted to find a cool way of doing that in these crazy times.
“Leveraging video conferencing felt like a great way to raise the profile (and hopefully the income) of artists while we’re all working from home.”
“Artists’ work is typically displayed from a distance, as decoration”, said Artist, RJ Vergara.
“Being the backdrop allows our work to be a digital focal point and conversation piece, which is quite an honour. It feels good to help bring people together while we’re apart.”