Viral Imaginations: COVID-19 is a new online project of Pennsylvania State University State presented as “a gallery and archive about Pennsylvanians’ experiences during coronavirus.” They are currently open to current or previous Pennsylvania residents for submissions of visual art and creative writing on an ongoing basis. The gallery is impressive! If you’re not a past/current resident, take some time to browse the gallery of art and writing. See my interview with  Michele Mekel and a link to submission guidelines below.

HOPKINSON: Tell me a little bit about Viral Imaginations:COVID-19. 

MEKEL: Viral Imaginations: COVID-19, an online gallery and archive geared toward the arts and the health humanities, provides current and former Pennsylvanians of all ages a community in which to share their pandemic-era creations and participate in a community arts project. These first-person, lived creative reflections will be archived for future study of the human response to this time and the myriad challenges we are facing at present.

HOPKINSON: How/why was Viral Imaginations originally started?

MEKEL: A Penn State colleague of mine, Professor Bernice Hausman, called me up in early March 2020, right before the shelter-in-place phase began, and asked if I wanted to develop a project with her related to the health humanities and the coronavirus pandemic. As a poetess and creatrix, as well as a bioethicist and educator, I was all in. We recruited some additional Penn State colleagues, received some funding from Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, and were developing the site within the week. Viral Imaginations: COVID-19 was up and running in April 2020 thanks to a wonderful webmaster and colleague, Clayton Lose.  It’s been going strong ever since—now thanks to a cadre of engaged student interns!  Projects like this truly do take a village.

HOPKINSON: Who is your target reader audience?

MEKEL: We have multiple, broad audiences. In terms of submissions, our audience is “limited” to current and former Pennsylvanians of all ages. With regard to site visitors, we are open to—and welcome—the world.

HOPKINSON: What type of work are you looking for?

MEKEL: We’re seeking imaginative works—both creative writing in all its forms and visual art—by current and former Pennsylvanians written or created during these pandemic days. The work need not be about the pandemic.

HOPKINSON: What do you wish you’d see submitted, but rarely comes in? 

MEKEL: We would love to see all—more—voices represented in the archive. We would love more work by children, more work by older adults, more work by underrepresented folks. We want it all! All voices are critical for the gallery and the archive to be truly robust. Each and every one of us is having a unique pandemic experience, and these individual experiences, captured through creative works, should be preserved as a form a narrative ethics for future study and insights into this time—as well as lessons for how to address the next pandemic when it arises.

HOPKINSON: What is your favorite part of being on staff with Viral Imaginations?

MEKEL: Being the co-P.I. of this project and the managing faculty member on the team, I have the opportunity to: direct the project’s daily activities; work with the incredible student interns who make this project possible (and fun); see the new submissions that come in; and spread the word about this project, which is truly a labor of love in dark days. I also have the chance to witness how creative responses have evolved over the various phases of the pandemic in terms of theme or content.  I also am able to witness how art—both written and visual—have made grappling with these months and all that they have dropped on our doorsteps more possible.

HOPKINSON: Where can we send submissions?

MEKEL: Visit Viral Imaginations: COVID-19—viralimaginations.psu.edu—and you’ll find submission forms for creative writing and visual art on the home page.  Just be sure to use the correct form. 

HOPKINSON: If someone has a question, how can they contact you?

MEKEL: Please email viralimaginations@psu.edu.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Ongoing

SUBMISSION FEE: None

THEME: Anything created during the pandemic—it need not be about the pandemic

FORMS: Visual Art and Creative Writing (i.e., poetry, short stories, creative non-fiction)

FORMAT: Online

ISSUE FREQUENCY: Continuous (until the end of the coronavirus pandemic)

AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: “We review submissions daily and post those that meet the site criteria ( see submission form, terms and conditions on the site, and https://viralimaginations.psu.edu/curation-standards/) and have been properly submitted.  We do not send out notification of acceptance or rejection due to volume and staffing constraints.”

SUBMISSION METHOD: Onsite submission forms for electronic creative writing and/or visual art files

SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: No

PAYMENT: No

SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

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