As contributors to the orange, or creative, economy, Bermuda’s artists and artisans are sometimes overlooked when the impact of an economic downturn is considered.

But the island’s creative community took a hit in 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sharon Muhammad, recipient of the 2020 Founder Award from the Bermuda Arts Council and Department of Cultural Affairs, said: “I’ve been feeling it all the way from March when things started to go south on the world.

“In some ways, that is tied to tourism, but not directly. My price point is not the price point for souvenirs. My audience is more local than foreign.”

Ms Muhammad added: “I think we are going into a new space. I hear all the talk about a return to normal soon, but I don’t know that I feel that. I don’t see how we could.

“I look at America, I look at England and the general scope of the situation doesn’t say anything that leads me to believe we’ll get to normal.”

Ms Muhammad acknowledged that the island has faced economic downturns in the past, but not at the level of economic hardship that people are feeling now, particularly in the United States.

She added: “Our ability to adapt is going to be tested, but Bermuda doesn’t have a lot of experience at adapting. I feel a little bit for us because I think we’re going to feel it.”

Jonathan Northcott, a potter with a studio in Smith’s, said: “Everything is way down, close to 75 per cent.”

Mr Northcott said he put his carpentry, masonry and horticultural skills to work during the downturn, accepting “many different types of work“.

He added: “I am a self-employed potter, and that is not a necessity item. I absolutely felt it to the point where I took on extra work from April to just a little while ago.”

Aside from studio sales, Mr Northcott sells his creations via retail stores, the Craft Market in Dockyard, and also gives lessons.

After a slow year due to the pandemic, Mr Northcott said business picked up in the approach to Christmas.

He added that he had a firing that began New Year’s Eve and continued into New Year’s Day.

Mr Northcott encourages customers to call ahead and reserve a time to visit his studio and see the new products.

Otto Trott said the closure of Gallery One Seventeen on Front Street in Hamilton had a dramatic impact on sales.

Mr Trott said: “When it closed, my main selling gallery closed. Until March, I had been having a very good year.”

As 2020 progressed, Mr Trott said demand for art dwindled.

He said: “This year, I took work to exhibitions and then picked it up when the exhibition was over. I am not used to that. That hasn’t happened for a long time. That’s what my year has been like.”

Mr Trott added: “When the pandemic kicked in, I pretty much didn’t have too many sales – just a couple of commissions and a couple of small sales.”

A bright spot was the delivery in October of a commissioned work for display at the new airport. Mr Trott’s painting of an old boat shed next to the pilot dock in St David’s “made a little difference”, he said.

Mr Trott said he concentrated on maintaining a profile on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube – including time lapse videos of art being created – and working to build a portfolio.

He said: “Once I realised what was going on, I concentrated on doing something so that when everything opens back up again, I’d have a decent amount of work.”

Graham Foster said the timing of a private commission lessened the impact of Covid-19 for him.

Mr Foster said: “I got lucky in March, as I received the green light to begin a six-month commission, a 24-square-foot painting depicting my version of Alice in Wonderland, so that has kept me busy during most of the Covid craziness, plus provided a steady income.”

He added: “Due to the lack of tourists, I did lose some income as print sales dropped off a cliff, but I found more locals buying giclee canvases and originals, as people confined to their houses began to re-imagine their surroundings, plus had more disposable income as few people were travelling or going on holiday.”

Vernon Clarke said the pandemic has had a “huge impact”, adding: “I haven’t sold anything since last year.”

Mr Clarke added: “If you are not working, or you see the pandemic stretching on for months and months, or even a year or two, you start to secure your long-term future.

“Art is not at the top of the list. You have got a mortgage, children in school, you have to get groceries in, pay land tax. Those things go at the top of the list.”

The impact of the coronavirus proved too difficult for Featherbed Art Studio in St George, which was housed in the St George’s Historical Society’s property on Featherbed Alley.

The studio shared by artists Emma Ingham and Dr Charles Zuill closed on December 31.

Ms Ingham, who revealed she is looking for a “new affordable space”, said: “This year has been a struggle. We couldn’t pay the rent due to the coronavirus. There were no visitors.”

She added: “I am not grumbling about the Historical Society – they have been very tolerant, incredibly helpful and kind.”

Business halted completely for commercial photographer Ann Spurling when the island went into lockdown.

Ms Spurling said: “I can’t think of any part of the job that I could do during lockdown. Maybe some retouching, but I couldn’t take pictures so I had nothing to retouch.”

She added: “I was terrified; I thought photography wouldn’t come back for a year. When you have a recession, that is what happens, but this is not the same as a recession, which I find interesting.

“At first it was really, really slow but then my corporate clients came one at a time to me, it picked up a bit, and then it all began to fall into place.”

She said there was demand for her photography due to clients bolstering their online presence.

Ms Spurling said: “Corporate work definitely came back. It really never went; they were just careful not to have close contact with anyone.

“I had two months off, I should thank my lucky stars.”