Arts
Keeping people connected via social media
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Grace Wickremasinghe
Many small business owners and young entrepreneurs have taken this opportunity to connect with their clientele during these trying times especially with the social trend of #supportlocal in which local businesses – a segment hit quite badly by the curfew, are highlighted through various media platforms.
CommunalxColombo - Sheziha Rahim
Founder of Koko’s Apparel Tashiya Rajasingham tells the Sunday Times how she used Instagram’s IGTV series to collaborate with different individuals to connect with her audience on @kokos.apparel by showing them something that they could relate to as well as learn from.
“The series consists of makeup tutorials, style tips, hacks, workout routines, yoga, live music and more hosted by our favourite women to keep you inspired, motivated and uplifted!,” she elaborates explaining that due to the lockdown, the orders for her clothing brand have not been delivered.
Sheziha Rahim on the other hand, used this time to plunge into something that she had been wanting to do for a while. She initiated a curated directory on Instagram called Communal by Colombo (@communalxcolombo) for local businesses based in Colombo, to connect the local community to support each other and support #buylocal.
“I had this idea before the whole world fell into this pandemic but the time to start this was ideally now, and so I couldn’t be happier to bring together local business owners and the community within this platform to share, nourish and energize each other for the better,” she tells the Sunday Times.
Grace Wickremasinghe, founder of the ‘House of Grace’ that hosts open mic night sessions bringing together many aspiring musicians and poets has also taken to social media to continue providing young talents a platform for showcasing their art.
‘Lockdown & Live’ was hosted live on her Instagram page and featured 30 local poets and musicians from all around the globe – from the U.S. to Australia.
“Being in lockdown is a time of great anxiety and loneliness for those who are usually very active and social and I thought artists with nowhere to perform at, a virtual space would be very different and interesting to share their talent,” Grace says.
It was a rewarding experience she recalls as the live audience and those who viewed the event after had been quite engaged and thrilled with the session.
