Artists and arts organisations across the country are suffering enormous financial losses and facing an uncertain future as a direct result of the Covid-19 public health crisis, new data from the Arts Council shows.
This morning.
Via The Arts Council
Surveys carried out by the Arts Council, the government agency for funding and developing the arts, show that 90 percent of artists have been impacted by cancelled or postponed events, with a great many describing the effect on their financial situation as ‘severe’ and almost half applying for the Government’s Covid-19 emergency payment.
Arts organisations estimated the loss of audience at 2.4 million people and growing, with more than 12,000 events cancelled and hundreds of staff members being laid off.
Arts Council Chair Prof. Kevin Rafter has said the information gathered from the surveys will help the Arts Council better understand the impact of jobs and livelihoods, and the responses needed to help the sector come through the months ahead….
Findings from Arts Council-funded organisations 23-27 March
Findings from Artists’ Survey 3 – 13 April
If there was only one benefit artists had it was that they always knew in a lot of cases it was that being an artist is not a steady income at the best of times. Unfortunately they have been absolutely decimated. An evolution of sorts is what they need. Dig out recordings of any plays they done and put them on youtube, short stories that much like a seanachai that they can stream,, podcasts. They are doing their best. Troubled times …
The arts sector will be one of the final areas of the country to be able to get “back to normal”. Even before this crisis started the arts in Ireland were desperately underfunded, so much so that we have the worst arts per capita funding in the EU. This crisis will push many artists away from their profession in to other areas where they can find better employment. This could have long term negative repercussions on the sector. This also isn’t helped by the lack of interest by politicians in the arts and the general public’s apathy towards it.
‘arts’ is only really in trouble as a sector if you don’t include youtube video streaming as an art. Many streamers have seen an increase in their incomes ‘Traditional Arts’ are in a bad way as the people interested in them have probably all been killed off by the virus.
Wonderful stuff. The pinnacle of art in the 21st century someone speaking to a web cam.
We need never leave the house again.