Pandemic 2020 — A Boon or a Bane for Culture?
The Pandemic of 2020 will be etched in our memories for a lifetime, for various reasons. It has swept past everyone’s lives, teaching us valuable life lessons. Did we ever imagine a situation where we would sit at home for almost 400 days, yet be productive at the same time?
Cultural Sector-Backbone of the Society
Like various sectors of the society, the Arts and Cultural Sectors too, have been affected by the minuscule monster. Artists, who relied on the services in their chosen art forms, now were left desolated and destined to sail through tough times. When music was seen as a means of bringing solace to humanity, now braved the curse of many artists as the pandemic snatched the livelihoods of many!
A Ray of Hope
Every sector of society has experienced tough times and the onus lies on each one of us to collectively bring back normalcy. The artist fraternity should support each other in times like these.
How can the cultural sector cope with the situation? As UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay says, “Culture has helped us out of the crisis. Now we have to help culture and support the diversity to which culture owes its strength”. Of course, many organisations have come forward to support artists and their families who have been badly affected by the situation, but one question to stop by and ponder is, how long will organisations support? Aren’t they humans too? Won’t their cash registers go empty one day? It is imperative one finds a way to make a living and not depend on philanthropy for livelihood.
Role of Technology
In this digital world, where everything is available at the click of a button, artists also are available at the click of a button! If you scroll through any social media platform, there is a surplus of online concerts by various artists, of various age groups. In fact, there is so much content now freely available that there is digital exhaustion for a listener. Various organisations have adapted to the situation and have been hosting virtual concerts, much to the relief of the rasikas or connoisseurs, but has this benefitted the artists? Are people willing to shell out from their purses to support the artists? Most probably, No. Even the top-ranking artists are sometimes forced to offer their services for free, which again questions their sustainability.
Though the cost of internet data has reduced considerably and is available to almost 70% of the country’s populace, the rest are unable to gain access to any of the art festivals or online cultural events, due to lack of internet, smartphones or connectivity.
Role of cultural establishments to aid sustenance
So, how can one strike a balance between sustainability and entertainment? What role do cultural establishments play during such times? There could be multiple ways in which they contribute to the upliftment of the artist fraternity:
- Offer temporary direct support to artist professionals by providing suitable compensation for loss of income for artists who depend on the art for livelihood
- Indirect support to cultural establishments for sustainability; promoting programmes for artists to upskill themselves and offer small research grants
- Provide artist incentives and temporary relief from tax regulations until they attain stability in terms of livelihood.
The Future-What to expect?
The hybrid model of offline-online performances and art festivals is sure to stay for few more years. Yes, we do agree the tiny Frankenstein has created havoc in everyone’s lives, but also, on the other hand, has given us artists an opportunity to learn, adapt, internalise, which would not have been possible in our routine hustle-bustle of lives, pre-pandemic.
Nature has its own way of telling us to press the pause button, ponder, and restart. Let us understand that everything happens for good and move on with our lives, with a ray of hope in sight!