A friend of mine from Europe sent me this news story a couple of weeks ago about how the cultural landscape is facing its biggest threat in a generation.
It says the UK government was too slow to provide support for the arts industry, and that without more help, many parts of Britain could become “cultural wastelands”:
This should be a crude wake-up call for artists.
Realistically, governments around the world will NOT make it a priority to save art businesses. Why? Because governments care most about issues that will get them votes.
And, sadly, most of the public simply does not care about the arts the way artists do.
Want proof?
Check out the comments on that BBC video:
Then if you go down the rabbit hole and dig deep into the replies to these comments, you find a lot of artists desperately trying to show these people that the arts, and theatres, and galleries are very much “essential” to artists who rely on them to provide for their families:
The take-home lesson here?
Artists are on our own.
It’s unrealistic – unwise, even – to wait for the government to swoop in and rescue the arts industry.
In times like these individual initiative is more important than ever.
Artists must redouble their efforts to connect with curators, build a list of collectors, find patrons for their studio, maybe even transition to showing (and selling) some work online.
It is difficult, but it is not impossible. For the Silo, Brainard Carey.
Featured image- www.theatlantic.com