No one expected that life would suddenly come to a halt due to COVID-2019. The immediate measures put in place by governments such as physical distancing, lockdowns, work-from-home arrangements and cancellations of mass gatherings have drastically changed our lives. Because the creative industry is highly dependent on social interaction, it is badly hit. Canceled engagements meant unpaid work, audience refunds and revenue losses.
Jobs in this sector have always been precarious, with the existence of multiple job-holding, contractual projects, unemployment or underemployment due to scarcity of projects, high mobility, prolonged work hours and insufficient access to social security benefits. Now, the onslaught of this pandemic magnified its vulnerability. Sadly, funding its recovery will not be a priority, given that the immediate need is to mitigate the spread of the virus.
In Germany and Australia, the government has set aside some arts grants support for new works and collaborations, employment for independent artists and stimulus packages to aid in the sector’s sustainability. Our government’s cultural agency and labor department recently pledged to support displaced and disadvantaged freelance artists and cultural workers affected by the nationwide quarantine by providing 10-days tax-free minimum wage and sanitation of their residences. Various private initiatives that benefit workers within the sector have already been in place since week 2 of the quarantine through free art classes, concerts and productions delivered from the artists’ respective homes.
These stopgap efforts may be in place for now, but at some point, we all need to answer certain nagging questions. Will the industry ever go back to the way it was before COVID-19? Will the arts retain its patrons and audiences in these times of uncertainty, with limited resources and spending power, and with the looming threat of recession? Will creatives survive? Let’s imagine some scenarios for some sub-domains in the sector.
The cultural and natural heritage domain might encounter difficulty picking up, as it is tightly linked to the tourism industry, and is entirely dependent on peoples’ mobility. According to the GlobalWebIndex (GWI) research done this March to assess COVID-19’s impact on consumer behaviors, attitudes and perceptions worldwide, vacations and trips are among the top items considered for delayed purchase, across all age groups.
Therefore to survive, and more importantly, contribute to enhancing everyone’s quality of life while in quarantine, the industry must innovate. For example, museums and galleries have set up virtual tours. One can virtually view Juan Luna’s Spoliarium from the NationalMuseum’s website: https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/Firefly/Go_Museum.html
In the books and press domain, publishers opened virtual libraries and granted free access to various scholarly journals and books. The quarantine has given millennials additional time to spend on reading, particularly newspapers. The demand for electronic versions of books and journals has increased until governments lift the lockdowns.
The broadcast and interactive media domain is busier this time. Lately, news coverage has dominated media consumption across all generations, followed by film and music streaming. Members of Gen Z are preoccupied with messaging apps, millennials with film streaming, Boomers with television, while Gen X preferred to spend more family time. From the survey, music streaming and gaming are part of Gen Z’s top 10 activities, particularly here in the Philippines.
The creative services domain is currently struggling. Advertising and visual communication budgets are being reallocated to COVID efforts. Restaurants are only limited to deliveries. Architectural projects are bumped off until everything stabilizes. The visual arts domain is experiencing a similar dilemma, as paintings, sculptures, jewelry and furniture are considered luxury products. On the other hand, the fashion industry is channeling its creative juices to the design and production of PPEs and masks, supported by donations from private entities.
The most affected domain is the performing arts, as the sector relies heavily on events. It might take a longer time for it to recover with the expected extension of the quarantine. For now, artists engage themselves in providing free streaming of past productions, music concerts, and dance classes to raise funds for health workers and vulnerable sectors. The GWI study confirms this as an appropriate strategy, since 75 percent of respondents around the world are into live streaming of music concerts and conferences, while 20 percent are into theater shows, particularly millennials and higher-income groups. For example, Lea Salonga’s one hour concert as part of Bayanihan, Musikahan’s fundraising efforts raised over P1 million.
Moving forward, the only way for creatives to prevail is to fully embrace technology, and challenge themselves in creating more audience engagement opportunities, as people resort to in-home entertainment on multiple channels and devices.
Now more than ever, they need to come up with new stories and perspectives, new modes of delivery, exercise agility in their mindsets and unleash their entrepreneurial spirit to earn sustainably from their creative products.
In a few months, things might go back to “normal,” but undoubtedly, it will be a “new normal” that includes living with the battle scars that COVID-19 has left us.
Glorife Samodio is a Doctor of Business Administration student at De La Salle University, where she also serves as the Culture and Arts Office director. She is the founding president of the Association of Cultural Offices in Philippine Educational Institutions, Inc. For comments or reactions, please email [email protected].
The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of De La Salle University and its faculty and administrators.