Loss And Gain

For all of us, the pandemic was a venture into the unknown. Now as we linger in the shadow of its aftereffects, three individuals tell us if the period was a waste of precious time... or a much-needed opportunity to slow down and re-examine the lives they had been living

- JAMIE LEE

CONSISTENCY IS KEY

DR NADYA WANG, 37 YEARS OLD 

Lecturer, Art and Fashion Historian, Podcaster 

I believe in doing the best in everything I spend my time on – I own two online publications, Art & Market (A&M) at artandmarket.net and Fashion & Market (FAM) at fashionandmarket.net. I am also the host of the podcast From A to Zig-Zag and co-host of In the Vitrine. In addition, I have been teaching full-time at Lasalle College of the Arts since 2013. In my personal life, I have been married for 11 years. I am also mother to two boys who are seven years old and four and a half years old. While my life is busy, my 30s have been stable in terms of my personal and professional growth.

Pre-pandemic, a typical day for me would see me juggling family and work. My husband owns an art agency, and travelled extensively to run it. We thought of how we could grow each of our businesses, such as figuring out how A&M, which was then a little over a year into its operations, would develop. We ensured that we spent time with our children, and with each other. I was also deep into my Ph.D. research with the Courtauld Institute of Art while teaching classes at Lasalle.

All in all, my daily routine was established: I would wake up early, prepare my older child for school and then I would go to work. We were comfortable with where we were at in life. I felt in control, which is important to me as I like to be on top of things at all times. When the pandemic hit, the status quo changed, and I felt rather lost, but tried to continue keeping on top of things. The lockdown immediately saw changes like isolation with the family, classes moving online, and travel plans being put on hold.