Bryan, Gloria, and Abby

When we asked Gloria how she feels about the pandemic, she said: “One thing I love about it is my mom got me a huge thing of clear glue so I can make slime. I also got my parents to make slime!” Then she enthusiastically reminded us to “Stay safe! Stay strong! Stay careful!”

Gloria’s mom Abby told us: “The pandemic is wearing on me. It felt good at first. There was something hopeful, with people coming together… But the uncertainty of things has now become the determining feature of our lives.”

Bryan reflected: “I am still helping get WoodSongs Old-Time Radio hour [link to FB page] out. I still work for the downtown public library—Gloria and I taught a coding class, which is about to come out. I also did a video about the mountain dulcimer, which is the state instrument of Kentucky—that one will come out in June.” And then Bryan played his own mountain dulcimer for us.

Lexington in the Time of COVID-19 is an artwork about people practicing social distancing at a time of a deadly virus. And also offering kindness.

Kurt Gohde and Kremena Todorova capture photographs at the periphery of American culture, where drag queens, discarded couches, and abandoned motel signs exist.