Life in Lockdown: Ed Ngai
I spoke with artist and founder of Led Creatives Ed Ngai about his experiences of connectivity and opportunity over the course of lockdown. Led exists to advocate for all creativity; to encourage collaboration and allow those who are involved across the arts to be part of one family of creatives. As a result of this, Ed’s perspective of lockdown sways between his own personal journey and overseeing the continued growth of a community which he has worked incredibly hard to keep alive.
What does creativity mean to you?
Creativity to me, is the spark of life. I feel most alive when I’m in my state of flow and I’m creating something that isn’t fully formed yet. I get that rush of adrenaline when something I imagined is coming out exactly how I want it too.
During the ebbs and flows of lockdown have you been able to harness creativity? And if so what form has that taken?
It’s taken the form of me writing my first script and entering it into a BBC competition which made it to the top 8% of all submissions. I am co-writing a novel with a friend from Croatia. I do digital paintings too and have taken on a fan art challenge, drawing different characters suggested by friend’s from Facebook in my own style.
How have you been able to keep the creative community connected throughout lockdown? What have the difficulties been?
The difficulty remains in not being able to have the in person meetups and lacking that real life interaction. However we do have to find the next best alternatives. I run a weekly online Sketch night, which is a social drawing meetup every Tuesday. Super casual, anyone is welcome, just turn up chat and draw. I also run a monthly creatives meet up online which is aimed for professionals and aspiring professionals in the Suffolk area, again it is very casual and we have had many interesting conversations around being a professional creative. I run the Facebook groups for the Ipswich Creatives Meet Up and my own Led Community in which the number of members continue to rise.
Do you think there has been enough support for creatives during lockdown?
It really depends. For the performing arts like theatre and music, definitely not. There is so much existential stress throughout lockdown for those who work in those industries especially, I really do feel for them. For the visual arts and design however there does seem to be more support for them in terms of more opportunities and classes to learn from. My Led Community group is a good place to share these opportunities and find the creatives who are able to do a job.
How can we all help to support artists and the creative industries?
Engage with them! Obviously, if you have money, please support their efforts of bringing their creativity into our lives. I have seen some successful stories about zine making, online theatre and online music gigs but if you don’t have money you can still support them by liking their work, commenting and sharing on social media. I know from personal experience that I get a buzz any time someone appreciates my work. The important thing is to make sure creatives still exist post covid-19.
What are the main things you have learnt about yourself, your own creativity and the community you continue to lead in the time we have been in lockdown?
I have learnt that I am adaptable. Creative thinking is what I practice regularly and when faced with blocked paths and dead ends, I can find my way around. I am not alone in this either, there are many creatives I know who have found their own ways of continuing. There is huge support within our community and we continue to persevere together. Using this time to grow will guarantee that when we do start up again, we will hit the ground running.
