I believe in staying informed about what’s going on in the world. But, doing so has been hard on the ol’ “reason to keep getting out of bed in the morning” reserves lately. Everything seems terrible. Mostly because it is.

I felt the need to do something about that (for my own mental health and to try to inject something good into the world), and realized that the things that feed me and keep me sane usually revolve around creativity and art in all its forms.

I am not an artist by any stretch, but in addition to my love for consuming and enjoying others’ art, I do like to dabble in making art, despite not being very good at it. Finding the time and making myself do that is sometimes a struggle, and I do better when I’m given parameters - an assignment, a theme, some kind of structure, and maybe even a deadline.

I asked a couple of friends if they’d be interested in joining me in committing to weekly art assignments or “missions” as our own way of being defiant in the face of the apocalypse and its horrors. They stupidly said “yes.”

So, now we’re taking turns assigning art projects each Thursday, with our submissions due the following Thursday. The point isn’t necessarily to make “good” art - it’s just to commit to doing something creative with some regularity, and to enjoy seeing the art that others create.

If, like us, you feel the need for something fun and creative amongst the horror, you’re more than welcome to join us.

You’ll find the “rules” (loose as they may be) below.

Each Thursday, a new “mission” (art assignment) will be posted below.

Participants can devote as much or as little time and effort as they want and/or can afford that week. Spend five minutes jotting something on a napkin if that’s all you have time or energy for, or get carried away with a project and spend days on it - any amount of effort is welcome.

The point is not necessarily to make good art – it’s just to be accountable enough to others that you force yourself to make art of some kind each week, to share it with others, to get to enjoy others’ art, etc.

No one has to give any critique or suggestions or feedback at all. Of course you’re welcome to tell someone you really like their work, but this is not about criticism or even artistic feedback - it’s just for fun.

Submissions are due each Thursday by 7:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), but you can send them earlier that day or even earlier that week if you want.

For now (until/unless I come up with a better vehicle), projects are submitted by email to artpocalypsethursdays@gmail.com.
Attach a JPEG or PDF file of your artwork (if the assignment was written work, you could paste it in the body of the email instead of attaching, if you prefer).

Along with your submission, include your name or (preferably) an alias you want to go by (Some of us feel more comfortable posting our art publicly under an alias instead of our actual names and, besides, it’s more fun that way). Bonus points if your alias is a reference to the movie Apocalypse Now.

Submission of your art is considered permission to include it on this website and/or associated social media accounts.

Don’t want to have your art viewed by the public? (even under an alias?) Totally understandable. Feel free to lurk and just enjoy what others create, or use the weekly missions to create art for yourself that you don’t share with us.

Submissions will be posted on this site for all to view - hopefully sometime on the Thursday they are due - perhaps slightly later when I’m busy. :)