Artistay is a social media campaign to raise awareness and support for the performance arts sector in Ireland for during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Research Question:
How has the performance arts in Ireland been Impacted by COVID-19 and how can we support and bring back performance arts going forward in this new normal?
Introduction:
This project is an awareness campaign conducted through social
media, that highlights the impact that COVID-19 has had on
Performance Arts in Ireland. We will be speaking and conducting
interviews with people from Ireland who are in the industry. These
people have been directly affected by COVID and so this will
give our campaign an inside look into the nature of this impact on
the lives of people in the performance arts sector. On our social
media, we will bring their stories online and share them through
our online campaign. The campaign will spread across our social
media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. We will use
interview video and audio clips from the people we speak with,
quotes and facts from how the industry has been affected to fill
our social media feeds to give people an awareness of what is
happening. We will allow our social media platforms to be a free
space for performers and creatives to promote events that are
happening virtually and encourage people to attend. Our goal is to
have our platforms and campaign to be an informative and supportive place for everyone in the arts.
Findings:
Looking into a report done by the government, "Life worth Living
- The report of the Arts & Culture Recovery Report". It seems as
though the government is aware of the hit the industry has taken
due to the implications of COVID 19 this year. In the report, it
states that in Ireland the direct arts sector provides around 55,000
jobs. A report done in the Irish time shows us that the industry as
a whole in Ireland is down -42%. This is what the government has
said in relation to how COVID has impacted the arts industry. They
said "It has been more detrimental, and will last longer than in any
other sector. Almost all activity has stopped. The survival, recovery
and sustainability of this sector are dependent on economic policy
and decision-making in the short and long-term". This alone shows
the severity and amount of support that performance arts and the
arts industry, in general, will need going forward into the new
normal
It was brought up in the report that the sector faces to great
challenges now
- how can people survive until the sector opens up again?
how can the sector retain the artists and the wider creative,
technical production and support workforce, with their skills and
talent, so that there are still arts, culture and entertainment events
for Irish audiences and foreign visitors to enjoy in better times?
Conclusion
After extensive research we have concluded that:
The performing arts sector wasn't receiving enough
recognition from the government
As such an important sector to the Irish public, the lack of
attention was unjust
Soon after we had began the project, the government had
promised to supply €50 million for the Irish live entertainment
industry
In March, 5 months later, they only released the details of the
funding
After much delay, the government supplied supply €50 million for
the Irish live entertainment industry which included €25 million
toward live performances. While the goverment did eventually
assist in providing the performing arts sector with funding, it took
an extensive amount of time for them to even provide details of
the financial aid. Performing arts is evidently not a priority for the
government, and considering the potential recession that may occur,
continued assistance is absolutely necessary to keep the sector
afloat.
Bibliography
1. Artscouncil.ie 2020. Arts Council: Covid-19 arts jobs crisis
requires co-ordinated plan. [online] Available at: <http://www.
artscouncil.ie/News/Arts-Council-Covid-19-arts-jobs-crisis-
requires-co-ordinated-plan
2. Cao, J. (2018). 12 colours and the emotion they evoke. A web
designer's guide to using colour to target key audiences [online].
Available from: https://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/12-
colours-and-emotions-they-evoke-61515112 [accessed 18 Jan
2021)
3. Falvey, D., 2020. The arts recession will be five times worse
than the rest of the economy. [online] The Irish Times. Available
at: <https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/the-arts-recession-will-
be-five-times-worse-than-the-rest-of-the-conomy-1.4376857>.
4. Norman, D. (2013). The design of everyday things: Revised and
expanded edition. Basic books.
5. The Irish Times. 2020. The Irish Times view on arts in crisis:
When the music stops. [online] Available at: https://www.
irishtimes.com/opinion/editorial/the-irish-times-view-on-arts-in-
crisis-when-the-music-stop-1.4331460
We speak with the people who live on-stage and off-stage in the industry and see who they have had to adjust their career now that live events are no longer happening.
The arts sector in Ireland employs 55,000 people and within the industry emloyment has dropped signifigantly since the beginning of the global pandemic. The impact of COVID-19 on the sector has been more detrimental, and will last longer, than in any other sector. Almost all activity has stopped. The survival, recovery and sustainability of this sector is dependent on economic policy and decision-making in the short and long-term"
We want to study how the performance arts been impacted by COVID-19 & see how can we, the public, support & bring back performance arts going forward in this new normal.
Our social media campaign spans across Instagram, Facebook & Twitter! Follow us @arti.stay on these platforms to keep up with the interviews & posts we put out!
If you want to get involved with our campaign head over to the Contact page and fill in the form!
