Life imitates art: the dawn of the virtual backdrop

Life imitates art, at least on social media during self isolation, which has seen a renewed interest to reinvigorate cultural movements straight from home. It began with an Instagram challenge to revive classic masterpieces, to fine art-inspired fashion shoots and making DIY crafts. Now it comes in the form of personalized backdrops for our daily video calls and meetings on Zoom.

Dutch creative agency …staat has curated a selection of virtual backdrops for an initiative called “Got Your Back,” which allows designers, illustrators, animators, photographers, filmmakers, museums and creatives to create unique backgrounds as “expressions of optimism.” These can be downloaded (or uploaded if you’re a creative) via gotyourback.space.

…,staat Founder Jochem Leegstra said in a statement: “We are super excited to bring a touch of optimism to those virtual spaces and celebrate the creative community. GOT YOUR BACK brings creativity to a new way of communicating, and raises awareness for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.”

The best bit? Taking a digital meeting with an arty background to obscure the reality of our messy homes and life-in-sweatpants routine.

Image by Karen van de Kraats via Got Your Back website.