At least the British Government is taking the corona-fuelled arts crisis seriously.
A parliamentary committee has been convened to explore the specific challenges cultural organisations face and sessions taking place from late April into May will consider evidence.
Committee Chair Julian Knight MP said:
“We’re particularly concerned that we risk seeing an irreversible impact on things that we value as part of our culture. Whether it’s sport, music, theatre or your local newspaper to give a few examples. We’re already seeing a long queue for government support across many areas. We want to make sure that our cultural organisations that give us much that we’re missing in this lockdown get a fair hearing.”
Industry figures are being asked to respond to the following questions -
- What has been the immediate impact of Covid-19 on the sector?
- How effectively has the support provided by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and other Government departments and arms-length bodies addressed the sector’s needs?
- What will the likely long-term impacts of Covid-19 be on the sector, and what support is needed to deal with those?
- What lessons can be learnt.
- How might the sector evolve after Covid-19, and how can DCMS support such innovation to deal with future challenges?
That sounds pretty thorough to me so I'm optimistic. At least about the committees intentions; but whether it will lead to a robust enough bail out for the arts, when there will be so many other and more urgent claims for Government subsidy, remains to be seen
Of course those of us who work in the cultural sector understand that everyone’s priority is to provide for their families and support the National Health Service and its staff at this time.
But valuing the arts is an indication of a civilised society and it’s good that an important body is taking the time to consider what the cultural landscape will, can and should look like once we get back to some semblance of normality.
Most of us got to know the hit musical DEAR EVAN HANSEN through listening to the Broadway cast album and marvelling at the soaring vocals of Ben Platt who originated the lead role.