Margaret Atwood, John Waters, Glory Edim and others tell VF readers how they found solace in art

Here we are, following an election that will place into our nation’s highest office a twice-impeached former president, a convicted felon, a convicted sex offender. trial, a man who repeatedly tried, during his first term, to End federal funding for the arts.

During that first semester, the arts will not be canceled. In the coming years, if Donald Trump succeed where he failed before, art will not end, it will only become more difficult for those living in this country. Now, as always, art and culture can bring solace or act as a galvanizing force. Spotify users are already streaming Billie Eilishsad “What was I created for?” 1.46 million times this week. I doubt that Ross is gayso beautiful”Sadness Is Not My Name” can do the rounds online, as did in 2020.

In VF, we asked artists of all genres to share the work they’re working on right now, and to contribute some standards of our own.

“I’m coming back Nick Cave, both his music but especially ‘Red hand file,’ his long-running newsletter in which he answers fan questions with a special emphasis on loss, grief, faith, creating art in times of crisis, and how to Who can hope to become a ‘warrior’s emotion'” —Megan Abbott, author of Beware the woman

“TV series, I, Claudius. Robert Graves wrote the novel. Behind-the-scenes power struggles in the early Roman Empire.” —Margaret Atwood, contributor Democracy: Eleven writers and leaders on what it is—and why it matters

“New adult coloring book by Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford, Magic worldcontains enough pages of delightful flowers, vines, castles, fish, potions and pumpkins to distract yourself from the stresses of the world. Get instant gratification with 150 color’s Prismacolor Premier, Derwent Chromaflowor Holbein Artist Colored Pencils. Can class for many days with Faber-Castell Polychromos. Add some sparkle with Caran D’Ache’s new product Cosmic blue metal pencil set. Or put the book away and just enjoy some of Daniel Smith’s gentle paintings create watercolor beads and latest Kuretake’s Gansai Tambi.” —Dale Brauner, VF research editor

“I greatly admire it Mariame Kabawriting. Her work is an invaluable source of hope. Her commitment to justice and collective care reminds me that we are not alone in our struggle. We have the power to create meaningful change, even in the face of overwhelming systems. Let this radicalize you offers a vision of a world built on empathy, solidarity and lasting liberation. In a time when it can feel like progress is slipping away, her unwavering belief in the human ability to transform society provides a much-needed lifeline. I’m also listening to soul-stirring music and exercising my creativity. Song “We pray,” by Coldplay, sounds like a timely anthem. It features a host of international music artists including little Simz, Burna boy, Elyanna, And TINI. The energy in their voices makes me feel alive and strong.” —Glory Edim, author of Gather Me: A Memoir Celebrating the Books That Saved Me

“I’m turning to Virginia Woolf’s provocative feminist polemic. Three Guineas, published in 1938 when fascism was rising in Europe. As if Woolf was looking back at our troubled moment over the decades, she wrote of the rise to power of ‘a monstrous man, with a loud voice, a hard fist, with childish intentions. put a chalk mark on the floor of the earth, inside it there are chalk marks. The mystical boundaries of humanity are written down, rigidly, separately, artificially; where, painted red and yellow […] he undergoes mystical rituals and enjoys the vague pleasures of power and domination while we, ‘his’ women, are locked in our own homes with no participation the many societies of which his society constitutes.’