For wondering if people GAF that the UK's arts industries are about to be lost?

[Babamamananarama]

I work in the arts so I've got a significant amount of skin in the game.

Venturing out of my bubble, I'm wondering if people who don't work in the arts know and/or care that there is real, significant risk that the UK's arts industries - arguably some of the best in the the world - is at risk of total collapse?

• major theatres are going under
• 450,000 jobs at stake
• hundreds of grassroots music venues across the country are about to close forever
• every level of the industry affected, from local community and participatory arts right, regional venues and companies through to the National Theatre and west end.

• the music industry has asked for £50m to save venues. For context, Wetherspoons got a £48m bailout.

If it goes, we won't get it back.

So: AIBU to wonder if most people are concerned about it? Or do people feel like the arts are a luxury/not for them/unimportant at this time?

I am concerned, yes.

I am not doing anything about it because I am fully mentally occupied with the schools situation and financially occupied with supporting my local businesses, e.g. take away tonight when we normally wouldn't, shopping at the butchers even though it is expensive,.on top of saving for redundancy to cope with the recession coming.

The arts aren't giving me an easy way to support them right now.

It seems like there is little I can do except say "oh that's a shame" when I hear of venues closing down.

Well you can sign and share the petition for financial support in next week's budget:

https://platform.organise.org.uk/campaigns/1094?rkey=s84QUEppOifOEMK8&utmsource=share&utmmmedium=facebook&utmcampaign=3EEQ3PcyYlSqu60n

I’m very concerned. It seems weird that in lockdown people relied on the arts (tv, music, books etc) but then seem to think the theatres And music venues are dispensable. I particularly hate the comments about it being a ‘middle class’ preoccupation. If it is, it shouldn’t be, it I really don’t think it is.

The petitions are one way to support them. Buying tickets for things next year is another way. Lots of the theatres, galleries, museums and music venues have online donations set up. Lots of theatres like the RSC, the National, Bristol Old Vic and many others are streaming plays and musicals and concerts online for a donation, that's another way. Spreading the word on social media is another way to support them. Writing to your local MP and asking them to keep pressing the government for support is another way to support them.

It's worth remembering that "the arts" aren't just opera and ballet and elitist stuff. Even if you never go to the theatre, theatres bring in billions to the economy from taxis, parking, restaurants, bars, all that around them. And then there's music venues in the same boat. And without theatre, tv and film drama will also struggle as there will be no (or far fewer) creatives coming through. Then there are all the theatre schools and drama/dance/musical theatre courses which will close down.

It's an absolute fiasco from the government, there has been zero support for the arts, and it's so horrendously short sighted.

@cardibach I completely agree with you, the problem is that a lot of people don't see the link between tv, books etc and theatre and live music.
If the industry is not helped by government soon it will be an absolute catastrophe.

I’m very concerned, as I’m an avid convert and theatre goer. I’ve upped my monthly donation to NTS.

*concert

I'm really sad about it. I think the arts are the things that make life worthwhile so it isn't just a joyless drudge of work and domesticity.

I work for an arts charity. We provide alternative education to those removed from mainstream education, plus mentoring and schemes for hard to reach / SEN Children and adults as well as community projects. We work in partnership with ACR, NHS and local universities to establish the importance of arts on child development as well as health (mental and physical). If the arts industry collapses there will be a lot of people affected in ways which could severely impact them and I’m not taking about income. Some of our service users are at real risk here and it’s worrying.

Also, if some do survive, it won't be the small, local and regional community groups who engage with young people and the elderly and minorities and their communities, it'll be the most elitist ones. The individuals who manage to hang on and stay in the arts won't be young or ethic minorities or working class, they'll be the Oxbridge trust fund types. ..

But having said that, the National Theatre has made 100+ staff redundant, the Albert Hall is almost insolvent and several regional theatres have already closed down.

I care, but more about galleries and heritage that might need sustaining such as old buildings, artifices - we can’t replace them. Music venues and theatres, not so much, though I can see the economic argument - but everything is in such a mess. There are so many things to worry about but I am very sorry for anyone who loses their jobs in any industry. However from a personal perspective I virtually never go to theatre/concerts - it’s simply not affordable. Maybe it shouldn’t be, but it generally is the preserve of the middle class.

A lot of my friends work in the arts, it is a really worrying time. I have friends who have had no income since lockdown and no work lined up, without venues the arts die.

When people watch TV where do they think most of those people gained experience? Where do they think most of those people make an income?

My best friend is a musician, he doesn’t make money from releasing albums, he makes it from touring.

Another friend is an actor, he makes more money from theater runs than the TV shows he has been part of.

But then we have everyone behind the scenes, make up, costume, set, sound, lighting, casting etc.

Yes I'm very concerned and thank you for the petition link. I'm a keen amateur singer and know too many fine performers who have lost all their income.
I've done a bit of donating to local artists, joined (and paid for) virtual choral projects, but it clearly needs a major response at national level. And at the moment I feel like the govt is entirely ignoring the issue.

I work in theatre. Only 3 members of staff have not been furloughed, and now that the furlough scheme is ending, but theatres cannot safely or financially sustainably open, the mass redundancies are starting.

The loss of youth arts, local youth theatres, arts education etc will be immense. And deprive a generation of the chance to discover and develop talent.

The saying 'Culture is to the UK what sun is to Spain' in terms of the visitor attraction and spend is true. Brexit would have hit the sector hard in any case, but now there will be no significant cultural offer. Unless the Gvt sit up, lean in and act very quickly.

The money earned as a result of the arts affects everyone in this country.

TV writers, directors, actors develop their craft in theatre. Enjoy your diet of Reality TV and Piers Morgan interviews.

My future is almost certainly up the swannee. I am 4 years from retirement so am more concerned about younger practitioners. But in truth, I have the experience to turn our theatre around and recover, if given the right support.

Fight for your local venues and arts services. Once gone it will be very hard to get them back.

I know and care and I agree in part. I think the Government's approach has been as shambolic as it has been for health and travel and most sectors.... but:

Hyperbole doesn't help. 'If it goes, we won't get it back'. It will certainly change but so will many other sectors. There won't be a black hole where all the creative industries sat. Perhaps it's part and parcel of the luvvie caricature of everything being fabulous and terrible with little in between.

The sector seems quite good, like financial services, in privatising the profits and socialising the costs. The Albert Hall was mentioned - Are some seats valued at c£200,000 with those members making £5000+ a year through the secondary market? The subsidies often seem to entrench vested interests with jobs for the boys and connected, forgetting that subsidies they spend are the archetypal taxes paid by workers on minimum wage.

All that said, good luck with the petition and hope funding comes through.

But the thing is, even if one person never personally goes to the theatre, or a concert, or a gallery or a museum, you still benefit from them. Imagine the West End with no theatres. How many tourists do you think will stop coming? Think of the lost income from hotels and restaurants and shops associated with those visitors. None of that tax income going into the economy.

There won't be any theatre for schools. No panto. No theatre classes for kids. No ballet lessons for children. It's a huge huge industry and people don't realise how much of an input it has everywhere.

One issue is that theatre and the arts are very London-centric in this country. Of course, there are theatres, galleries and concert venues all over the UK but nothing like the amount of funding goes into them.

It can be quite difficult, if you're nowhere near London, to find things to go and see at a time you want to see them - the play you're interested in is only on on a Wednesday night and it's an hour and a half's drive away and you won't finish work on time to get there - that sort of thing.

So I don't think there will be a wave of nationwide concern about this simply because people won't miss what they've barely had.

The arts aren't giving me an easy way to support them right now.

Seriously?

Zilla: if the theatres are sold off for housing (for example...as some have been in the past) it will take years to get them back.

No one wants to buy the theatre in Southampton that has just closed down. If money is not pumped in by the Gvt my guess is that it could become a hotel of restaurant / shopping complex.

Now I see Norwich theatre Royal / Playhouse is under threat. The pp is right, it is harder to find things to see in lots of areas, and Norwich isn't exactly in a conurbation where you have a wide choice of venues.

Theatres are hugely expensive buildings. If they go under, are sold for other purposes I do not see it as hyperbole to say if they go we won't get them back. And yes, those who work in the arts have been inventive and astute in developing commercial opportunities and attracting investment of different kinds - so can do without the patronising" luvvies" stuff, thanks.

I am responsible for having revived one theatre after the associated 'parent' organisation went into administration - it took over 6 years before that company had a venue to operate from again.

So I don't think there will be a wave of nationwide concern about this simply because people won't miss what they've barely had

I agree that there needs lot be more overall investment in the arts, and especially around the country. But you will miss the benefit to the economy:

www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/apr/17/arts-contribute-more-to-uk-economy-than-agriculture-report

Sadly, I think the economy is beyond repair now, with or without the contribution of the arts.

Thank you for sharing the petition.i will definitely be signing and sharing.

I am not in the arts but I appreciate the contribution the arts make to society, and I have a few friends who are in the arts or teach drama. Some of them are overseas and lack of investment is a global problem.

One of the biggest issues is that theatres and music venues just can't make money if social distancing is needed, but I really can't see how we can get around that.

I can see the arts getting more elitist if there isn't substantial government investment. I don't think the furlough scheme should be a "one size fits all" approach. Different industries need different levels of support.

You can tell who is in the government's pocket (wetherspoon's).

It is sad, and I've signed a few petitions.

However, I can't afford to spend money buying advance tickets for events that may well be cancelled - either due to COVID or because the venues have gone bankrupt. I also don't have enough spare cash to spend on GoFundMe's or whatever.

I don't think it's that people don't care, it's that a lot of people are struggling themselves (redundancies, furlough, being off work to cover childcare) and they simply can't afford to do anything else.

In the wings,

It is hyperbole if someone says 'if it (the sector) goes, we won't get it back'. Parts of the creative industries have and will prosper and parts won't. You've mentioned individual theatres. Screen and Television has been doing better

The UK's screen industries saw a record-breaking year for international high-end TV production, increasing 51% from last year. "Spend on film and high-end television in the UK from major international productions topped £3.04 billion in 2019, according to figures released by BFI's research and statistics unit."

Now that's all pre-COVID and things will change but the whole sector is not at risk.

When I mentioned 'luvvies', I mentioned the louvre stereotype in the context of a particular statement. If you took that as patronising then that's in your head. Don't read into things beyond what they said and were intended to say.

Zilla:
Film and TV relay hugely on theatre and other arts for their immense success.

I said "Fight for your local venues and arts services. Once gone it will be very hard to get them back"

If you lose your local / regional arts centres / theatres it will be very hard (and / or expensive / slow) to get them back.

I didn't say 'won't get them back'.

In reference to your misquote of me, you said "Perhaps it's part and parcel of the luvvie caricature of everything being fabulous and terrible with little in between"