Commercial operators reveal eye-watering losses and other non-subsidised organisations sit on the brink of ruin in the absence of financial support from the Government for those ineligible for existing emergency funding streams.
The sector is “on its knees”, the Arts Council of Wales tells a Senedd committee, and invites the arts community to contribute to plans for “lasting and systemic change” post-lockdown.
How can we preserve the entrepreneurial spirit that has characterised the sector’s response to the pandemic, and which of the new ways of being should form part of a new compact with our audiences and communities? Hilary Carty looks at the challenges ahead.
Innovative solutions to emerging problems are showing how much can be achieved right now, but getting operationally ready for the next stage is the new challenge facing the arts. It’s important to recognise it’s a shared challenge writes Paul Fadden.
How can an organisation that depends on face-to-face interaction with its audience sustain its work during the Covid-19 lockdown? Pat Moores asked Adel Al-Salloum how the The Spark Arts for Children is planning to face the future.
Concerns that progress towards diversity is being de-prioritised as a result of the Covid crisis have prompted a new forum from which to raise the voice of D/deaf and disabled creative practitioners and campaign for inclusion.
Fears that the current crisis is leading to “an incredible level of retrenching” on diversity have prompted actions to launch a scheme that will enable furloughed staff and diverse-led organisations to share skills.
Ticket buyers fighting to claim refunds from ATG Tickets have found the company is not automatically refunding transaction fees, claiming this is in line with the industry’s Code of Practice.
As the Arts and Humanities Research Council sets out to demonstrate the role digital developments can play in arts and culture, some academics believe it is overstepping its brief.
Proposals for a taskforce to help ‘get the music industry back on its feet’ and a petition to increase royalties for streamed music are among the latest measures aimed at putting pressure on the Government to support the music industry.
Brexit fall-out is biting harder as musicians find it more difficult to secure European opportunities while uncertainty over the terms of a trade deal remains.
Fine art students at the University of Lincoln are determined not to let coronavirus ruin their degree show. Emma Brice explains how they’ve been harnessing social media to give profile to their now-online celebration of 3 years’ hard work.
Delivering solutions to social and economic problems after the pandemic will require policy-makers in different areas to “re-think received wisdom” about how they should function, and collaborate more closely rather than ‘jostle for space at the table’.
Interest in virtual museum tours was shortlived, suggests US research, which finds that ‘things to do with kids’, ‘rainy day activities’ and ‘date night’ ideas are having more enduring appeal.
“It is the art they want, not the buildings”. Jessica Walker says it’s time to rethink the structures that allow arts organisations’ viability to rely on the self-exploitation of musicians and creatives.
If organisations don’t get a grip on the difference between being a freelancer and an employee – and give both the rights and benefits they are entitled to – then the workforce they depend upon may not be returning to them after the current crisis has passed, says Sara Whybrew.
As cultural organisations attempt to coax reluctant individuals back into the habit of live cultural attendance, now’s the time to break down once and for all the attitudinal and physical barriers that exclude D/deaf and disabled people. Andrew Miller explains why – and how.
