Tales of the New Normal

By Art of Covid Admin | October 8, 2020

Submitted by: Rose Barroga

Tales of the New Normal is a video passion project, created by Rose Barroga, to document personal experiences during the time of COVID-19. Through remote interviews and using only her smartphone, Rose creates these beautiful and moving videos capturing the stories of people from around the world.

We were so excited when Rose reached out to the Art of Covid to participate in her project. We are so grateful for the opportunity, and are thrilled that we can help share more about this amazing project! Below, Rose graciously answered some questions for use about what inspired her to create this project, what she has learned, and the message she hopes to spread through her project.

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— TALES OF THE NEW NORMAL is a tiny, experimental passion project I started because I wanted to understand this new reality we're living in. I wanted to listen to the personal experiences of strangers, acquaintances, and friends here in the Philippines and across the world, so that maybe we can learn from them and move forward with more ease and acceptance. It will be personally interesting for me, too, since I've challenged myself to shoot & edit all content using only a smartphone (without fancy equipment 🙃) + for remote interviews, rely only on the audio & visuals from my sources🤞 It's gonna be a bit scrappy and whole lot different from what I do with a TV crew, but let's see what happens 😝 DM us with your story! 💌 Love, @barrogarose

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What inspired you to create Tales of a New Normal, and how did it come to be?

Okay, so since I work as a writer for a news channel based here in the Philippines, I really missed the adrenaline that I used to get from going out in the field and gathering stories from people of different backgrounds. Sadly, the pandemic has hindered me from practicing that.

But that’s when I got the ‘aha moment’: “Hold on, I could just start my own avenue and do it myself!” I felt that, as a journalist and storyteller by heart, I could not let this period in history just pass without at least attempting to document how it drastically changed the lives of people around me. Even if all I’m using is my smartphone, I still have the ability to reach out to people around the world! That’s the power of human connection even in the age of social media and social distancing 🙂

The Art of Covid- Tales of the New Normal Rose Barroga
Instagram: tales_of_new_normal
What have you learned from collecting stories from all around the world?

After gathering the COVID stories of different people from different countries, I realized how we’re all really just the same at the end of the day. Our governments may handle this crisis differently, but the way a virus we cannot all see has dramatically changed our life paths, relationships, behavior, and society in general – – – that’s such a powerful thing. It somehow makes you think that no matter your social status, race, age, at the end of the day we are all affected by this and therefore we should all come together and help each other get through it.

What message do you hope to spread through your project?

Ultimately, I want to spread hope. I believe there is value in seeing the positives during a very dark time, because sometimes we just need something to hold onto. Sometimes, people also just need to see their own problem replicated in someone else’s life to feel less sad and more connected to others. That you’re not alone, and that you’re not the only one going through this craaaazy period! That’s what I want viewers to feel by watching the 1-min. videos 🙂

To stay up to date with Tales of the New Normal’s stories visit their Instagram @tales_of_new_normal

Posted in Performing arts (music, theatre, film, dance)