Creating a National Arts Force of freelance and gig economy workers to work in schools, care homes and communities is among recommendations to the Scottish Government for the preservation of jobs and recovery in the creative sector.
The Government is encouraging the sector to welcome the public back, but museum directors warn that “permission to reopen does not resolve the huge issues currently facing the sector”.
Given where we now find ourselves, we have few choices but to pool resources and develop new economic and business structures within which the arts will be able to thrive in the future. Anne Bonnar and Hilary Keenlyside propose some fundamental building blocks.
Communicating re-opening will be much, much harder than closure, says Kate Fielding-Cox, who proposes four key principles that every venue should bear in mind when preparing to welcome the public back.
“Radical, representative reinvention” is the only moral choice for the sector now, says Richard Watts, who examines what’s locking us in – and what might help the sector break free from its unfair, unequal and excluding norms.
Two-thirds of organisations and almost three quarters of individuals who applied to Arts Council England for emergency funds were successful, but 4,000 applicants were left disappointed.
Lockdown is transforming the way music teachers deliver instrument tuition now and in the future, with 87% currently adapting their lessons for delivery online.
Outdoor Arts producers and artists are experienced at turning the most unpromising setting into a performance space, and their back-catalogue of shows is tailored for the outdoor. Could they be the first to woo back audiences in a socially distanced world? Angus MacKechnie looks ahead.
Familiar voices may be muted this year, but some have found new ways to communicate with their audiences, and to reach new ones. Michael Eades asks some fundamental questions about the future for festivals.
As we move from the immediate crisis towards new ones, we need atypical thinkers, agile doers and creative problem-solvers who thrive in unknowns, says Kai Syng Tan. She and Tom Northey explore examples of ‘Artful Leadership’.
Scotland appears to be the first country in the UK to make a direct Government loan to ensure a cultural organisation can survive the current financial crisis.
Furloughed arts employees across the country are being warned of job losses as the next stage of the furlough scheme is deemed “not fit for purpose for the theatre industry”.
What has been the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on those who are blind or have low levels of vision? And how can cultural venues meet their needs when the doors open again? Matthew Cock asked some searching questions.
A Cultural Investment Participation Scheme offering repayable finance could kickstart the cultural sector’s economy under proposals being drawn up for Government to take a quasi-equity stake in theatres.
The new forums will give more organisations a voice on the process for opening up venues, but the cash flow crisis facing the entire sector will remain the elephant in the room.
Trusts and foundations are preparing to build stronger connections with a changed world and a changed public. Moira Sinclair reflects on this brief window of opportunity for a more equal future – and why the alternative is too grim.
As more and more freelancers refuse to accept unfair agreements and start calling out bad practice by employers, there’s a legal, social and moral case for the whole sector to face up to the issues they’re confronting, says Sarah Shead.
For artists and performers to be supported in the years ahead, de-institutionalisation and the decentralisation of arts funding is a priority. Universal basic income isn’t the whole answer, says Susan Jones.
Proposals for radical change would ordinarily be met with derision by most orchestra boardrooms, says Julian Forbes. But current circumstances make it essential to think long and hard about how well their product is aligned with a market, and how it can become more competitive.
