The Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge are hoping to keep morale high during these trying times. Since last year, they have worked tirelessly to tackle the situation created by the novel virus in Britain.
One of these efforts included the Hold Still project hosted by the National Portrait Gallery and was led by Kate herself. The project invited people of all ages to send in photographic portraits under the themes of helpers and heroes, your new normal, and acts of kindness during the pandemic.
Over 31,000 submissions from across the country came from people aged from 4 to 75 years old. All these photos were then selected, and the judges further narrowed down to 100 portraits based on the photo’s ability to portray emotion and the experience of life during a pandemic.
These portraits included shots of virtual birthday parties, handmade rainbows, and community clapping to brave NHS staff, which all expressed humor, grief, creativity, kindness, and most importantly, hope.
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Spider-Man On UK’s Streets
Another one of the finalists from the hold still project was a martial arts teacher who dresses up as Spider-Man during the lockdown to cheer up children. After getting selected, he received a call from the Duchess of Cambridge.
The phone call took place in the fall of 2020 when Kate personally spoke with all the finalists of the Hold Still exhibit, which included a photo of Jason Baird and Andrew Baldock, who revived their childhood dream and dressed up as Spider-Man roaming the streets of the UK. They took the opportunity to use their exercise time to cheer up children and keep them smiling.
During the chat, Kate jokingly mentioned that she would like to buy Prince William a Spider-Man suit too, which will undoubtedly be loved by their children.
Martial Arts Teacher By Day, Spider-Man By Night
The selected photo showcases Baird doing a backflip while children look on from inside of their homes. The Duchess showed gratitude and stated that the photo expressed the community’s optimism while battling the devastating effects of the virus. She also mentioned how Baird being a martial arts trainer makes the situation even better.
Baird claims that when he found out that they only had an hour of outdoor activity, both he and Baldock wanted to make the best of it and do something that would cheer up the community. Not long after, he noticed that the children had also caught on, and many had window signs saying, “Spider-Man, stop outside my house”.
Even the pandemic has taken a quite toll on everyone, it is important to remember to keep your head up and believe that this too shall pass.
