Creative spaces and activities must be redesigned. Studio work and exhibitions can be done in various ways while adhering to government and health protocols. First, activities can be done in open spaces. Second, “it is going to be on a smaller scale,” (Garcia 2020) which means part of the exhibitions can be done with a few people who can experience the artworks in person while the rest of the audience can participate through online platforms. Third, while travel restrictions are in place, Garcia said that it is possible to “send the works without the artist. Objects can do that for us, which translates into people-to-people connection.”

These protocols can help the community in conducting programs while navigating the safety measures. For example, in General Santos City, Philippines, Teatro Ambahanon led by Leonardo Cariño, in partnership with the Cultural Center of the Philippines – Kalinga ng Sining, has conducted a training for teachers through dance workshops and the production of classroom instructional materials. They do so by observing the guidelines provided by the Philippines’ Inter-agency Task Force for COVID-19. Physical distance is observed in the training. This will help teach dance lessons as schools shift to online classes.

Stronger connectivity within the region must be established. This does not refer solely to internet connectivity but also to building networks and linkages among individuals to art and cultural institutions (Aguja 2020), conducting a vibrant exchange of knowledge and resources, strengthening relationships, and building synergy in the BIMP-EAGA. The following steps can be done:

First, the technological gap should be addressed. It must be noted that not all genres and art forms can be readily transposed to virtual platforms; and communities have varying socioeconomic conditions that may make them unprepared for the digital shift. While visual arts and live performances can be curated and performed online, those who work with Intangible Cultural Heritage (brass casting, basket weaving, beadwork, etc.) might find it challenging. They should be supported in crafting and managing online platforms where they can sell their products. Those who work with Tangible Cultural Heritage and whose livelihood relies on tourism can be helped with digital literacy and the production of online educational campaigns to continue the promotion of arts and culture.

Second, an inventory and production of a database for artists and cultural workers in the region must be done. It is important to have a clear picture of the cultural, human, and artistic assets of the BIMP-EAGA that should be streamlined in its future programs. These resources can also be mobilized through the crisis, “because if we lost all these cultural workers we have, we really have a big problem. They should be factored in in looking for solutions because they are many” (Aguja 2020).

Another, this database can connect young artists to established artists. Individuals must be connected to bigger art and cultural institutions.

Third, there should be trading within the BIMP-EAGA and dynamic networking between public and private organizations. It is necessary to build solidarity— where the traditional and contemporary ways of doing things meet and uplift each other. All of these can be started on a small scale while building strong foundational relationships (Garcia 2020).

Capacity building, skills training, and knowledge exchange should be conducted. While the size of social gathering is reduced, the skills of the art community must be upgraded. This can be done in the form of seminars, training, and workshops, such as writing grant proposals (Eswar 2020), utilizing digital technology, learning about the digital economy and cultural entrepreneurship, and enhancing artistic skills and talents overall. Joint trainings, mentorship programs, and an inter-regional exchange of ideas within the BIMP-EAGA should be prioritized. There must be no boundary in cultural and knowledge exchanges, “we only need to create a platform and program” (Aguja 2020) where these activities can be put in place.

Masterclasses can be produced and educational materials can be published for classroom use. These are some of the ways that “artists can do to generate income” (Lim 2020) while “we keep the cultural enthusiasm of those practitioners and the audience (Aguja 2020).

Uphold the value of art as a means for human survival. There has been a common perception that art has no value for basic human survival, and primarily viewed as a mere “hobby, and still as something on the side rather than the main thing” (Pereira 2020), and it is not seen as a “sort of ammunition available to deploy when there are problems” (Aguja 2020). However, this can be seen as part of cultural blindness that disregards the role of art and culture in processing and attending to the needs of the people. One instance is an issue on mental health. Prior to the pandemic, people had been taught to be with each other physically when problems are encountered. However, the situation prohibits them from doing so. This is where “culture and arts should really come into the picture” (Aguja 2020).

Art can be used as a therapy. For instance, both the pandemic and the working from the home scheme have become a retreat for some artists, which helps them to produce more works. However, it also destabilizes the routine of the people due to the pounding realities of doing household chores, thinking about bills, and feeling of general anxiety. For visual artist Norman Narciso, he goes back to his art. He said that “with or without an audience, we have to do creative works to acknowledge God and our existence.” He works with his pen and ink drawings again, wire sculptures, assemblage, and construction of DIY instruments. He has found quilting helpful. The act of connecting pieces together “replicated the process of patching up, reconciliation, and eventual healing that leads to order and peace” (Narciso 2020). Artmaking becomes a way to find meaning in the situation and existence, vis-à-vis a form of therapy.

Art can be used as an information campaign. Similar to what is being done in Sabah, artists and cultural workers have made videos about COVID-19 in different ethnic languages to “make the video accessible for everyone to understand” (Eswar 2020). This can be replicated in various genres.

There should be an investment in Cultural and Creative Industry. There must be research and publication of the tangible and cultural heritage before these are totally forgotten by the younger generation, such as the method of tattooing in Sabah. This can be harnessed to become “financially gainable” (Pereira 2020).

Clear government policies and support from cultural centers must be strengthened. Governments perform in varying degrees. While subsidies and bank loans are given to the art community during the pandemic, it is a challenge to encourage policy-makers to create clear guidelines and sustainable programs for the art community.

Artists and cultural workers create a community of sharing. This pandemic has changed the context in which people live. The BIMP-EAGA artists and cultural workers strategize and navigate within new structures and new rules while they look into one’s culture as a source of strength. What is traditional and contemporary move alongside each other (Horfilla 2020). According to the Acting Director of the Arts and Culture of the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports of Brunei Darussalam, Haji Mohd Abdoh Bin Hajo Awang Damit, this community must go back to its Asian self that values family above else and practice the values that “have [been] shared from generation to generation: we accept change. We love the elderly. Whatever we do, we always think that we are part of society.” He further adds that “our strength of being Asian [can be found when] we are coming together as individuals and as society as a whole. Whatever change that we have, whatever new norms that we have, [we] always come together, [and] live with it together.”

This situation can be viewed as a narrative that currently shapes and makes us who we are (Damit 2020) in our story as people. As all stories go with a beginning, middle, and end—this one starts with the crisis, then, people come together as a family, relationships become stronger, opportunities for meetings are made even more meaningful, and communities strive harder for resilience. And while we are in the limbo of re-dreaming our dreams, we are creating an identity of a responsive community that looks after each other, and this community, as Rachman (2020) puts it, “is not something outside from us, the community is us. Our community is our immunity.”