Dark Days, Bright Skies: Isolation and Quarantine

Sollars created Dark Days, Bright Skies to document her experience of the COVID 19 pandemic and lockdown. Life suddenly changed for many in March 2020 as businesses and centers for community closed to slow the spread of the virus. Daily isolation increased feelings of anxiety and fear and Sollars began to film the sky as viewed from her window as a calming ritual. In Dark Days, Bright Skies the days blur and fade together, from one to the next with only subtle changes. A flock of birds passes one day, perhaps a plane the next, but most are simply views of the blue sky over and over, in mundane repetition. The video mirrors the experience of many during the pandemic, particularly that of individuals with disabilities, chronic-illness, and other high-risk factors. Dark Days, Bright Skies: Isolation and Quarantine serves as a solemn memory of the devastating toll the pandemic has taken on human lives but also represents the hope on the horizon, as we slowly begin to transition into a post-pandemic life.

Kendra Sollars lives and works in Arizona and is currently focused on video-based public installation art. Her collaborative work with artist Lauren Strohacker, Animal Land, was projected at GRAM during ArtPrize 10 in 2018. Sollars and Strohacker worked with Blandford Nature Center to create a haunting video of Blandford’s rescued owl residents, shedding light on the displacement, reintroduction, and loss of wildlife in urban areas. The work was one of the Time-Based Public Vote finalists that year.

The projection of Dark Days, Bright Skies: Isolation and Quarantine has been organized by Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. for World of Winter, the largest winter festival in the Midwest. With over 100 free events, activities and outdoor art installations over two months, the festival provides an opportunity for families and adults to enjoy Michigan’s beautiful winter and enjoy the four-season offerings of Downtown Grand Rapids.