We’re Losing the Arts

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted everyone. While some industries like hospitality have been seemingly eliminated nearly over night, another industry that has been adversely impacted by Covid-19 is the fine arts and nearly all creative endeavors. I first had this thought when I read a long Reddit thread about all the people who had canceled things in 2020 due to Covid. The one that stuck out to me was the couple going on tour as opera singers. 2020 was supposed to be their breakout year with festivals and other events that would set them up for a productive career. Instead, they found themselves at home with dwindling funds and were planning a career pivot. Simply, they were forced to leave the industry and discard years of work developing themselves and their career for something else that would pay the bills. I feel their pain. My short story collection, part of which had been published in a major journal, came out the day the lockdowns started. Needless to say, I did not get the response I was hoping to get. 

Obviously, figuring out how to make and pay the bills is not a new problem for anyone in the arts. But for those able to stitch together an income from arts, any sudden interruption can be disastrous. Foundations rushed to open up grants and special assistance programs for those affected. I am sure that has helped. But it goes a long way from filling the gaps. Many artists turn to other income sources, and others will likely end up leaving the industry altogether. Economically this is difficult because companies are already dialing back hiring, and unemployment claims continued to rise in January. A fresh batch of people looking to make a career pivot will find it tough to find a different job when there are more layoffs and furloughs than hiring. 

One of the biggest problems is that for those on the cusp of making it and becoming part of the next generation of their art, 2020 was a sharp career setback. I know that some people have found quarantine a great time to make new art, but one of the pieces I found about this was written by a guy who has a consistent day job. He’s only missing his social life. For folks who do art full-time, this is a huge crisis. I know people from my Twitter community that have been simply unable to create, given how crazy the world has been over the past year. I know that my word count was nominal last year. While being homeless for 6 months certainly did help (and neither did having to buy a new car and driving 8,821 miles), but I went on residencies. I had time to write, but I was often glued to Twitter, figuring out what happens next and how it might affect my plans. It is hard to be in a creative space when the world is burning daily. We lived through protests (from all sides) and growing pandemic numbers. 

This problem also extends to not just performers but also all the support staff. There are a dozen or more people who are there to run the lights, sound, curtain, crowd control, and craft services (food) to support a performance or an event in any live event venue. These people have all been left out of work and forced to subsist on unemployment (extra of which ran out in July) and stimulus money. Many of these people will leave the industry, never to return. Most people in these jobs never figured that they would be in this position. Artists and other event staff tend to make all their money at a certain time of the year and plan their spending accordingly. Organizations like major Opera companies or orchestras that depend on concerts and regular donations are better off but still struggling with similar expenses but much less income. Even among writing residencies, many places have closed to turned to host digital events to raise money.

I know many in the book business thought that this would be a boon for us, and I know some indie authors who have taken advantage of the surge of reading over 2020, but according to industry sources, book sales were down 21% last year. The reality is that books are luxury items, and when people have to pare back, spending entertainment is the first to go. In today’s environment, people will choose not to buy a book rather than cancel a streaming service. I foresee difficulties in the future, even for books. Music only makes money on the road, so while people might be streaming more music than ever before, the artists will get a paltry sum for all those listens. 

Venues are struggling to figure out how to stay open themselves, and there is a variety that won’t survive this crisis. Others will be in debt for years as they pay off rent from the crisis. Although lockdowns may ease, people who haven’t been out to a bar or venue for the past year will find that many of their favorite spots will have closed. This greatly depends on the level of lockdown that existed at the local level. Still, even in places with loose restrictions, many venues can’t get artists to come due to safety concerns, which means less entertainment. Margins are thin, so even at reduced capacity, an event might not make any money. 

The impact on our country in this area will last for decades. There are new rap artists that might never be heard widely. There are fine arts events that might never come back, and a whole generation of singers, musicians, performers, and others won’t get their careers off the ground. A society without art and culture is a society on its way out of things. I fear that the US might very well be headed this way. TV and Film are an important part of the culture, but that’s only a fractional amount of what constitutes art and culture. The local philharmonic is just as important as the latest Netflix binge-watch. New music from new artists is just as valuable as a new film. Much of the focus has been on the big companies and the big projects. Not nearly as much focus has been made on the thousands of independent artists that actually make culture happen.