Art and culture in the COVID-19 era: for a consumer-oriented approach
- PDF / 506,433 Bytes
- 14 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 58 Downloads / 193 Views
Art and culture in the COVID‑19 era: for a consumer‑oriented approach Anne‑Sophie V. Radermecker1,2 Received: 13 July 2020 / Accepted: 23 September 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, the arts and culture sector has been experiencing a paradoxical situation. While the demand for cultural and creative content has intensified throughout the lockdown period––and digital access has become more critical than ever before––economic indicators predict that the cultural sector will be one of the most affected, and probably one of the slowest to recover. Beyond short-term initiatives such as surveys or data collection aiming to provide artists and intermediaries with financial and logistical supports, both academics and practitioners must engage in joined-up thinking on the future of art consumption, especially from a consumer’s perspective. This commentary paper addresses the main challenges faced by the economy of arts and culture in times of global health crisis by pinpointing the specificities of cultural goods and services. More specifically, the paper shows the extent to which traditional patterns of consumption have been affected, and what research is needed to develop sustainable solutions. We argue that consumers will be critical players in the recovery process, and four research directions are suggested accordingly: (1) data collection on consumers’ cultural practices; (2) consumers and the digital cultural experience; (3) consumers’ engagement and loyalty in the arts and culture; and (4) consumers’ well-being. Keywords Cultural management · Cultural economics · Art consumption · Times of crisis · Digital consumption · Consumers’ behaviors
* Anne‑Sophie V. Radermecker Anne‑[email protected] 1
Duke Art Law and Markets Initiative, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
2
Department of History, Arts and Archaeology‑Cultural Management, Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Avenue Jeanne 56, J56.2.101 (CP103), 1050 Brussels, Belgium
13
Vol.:(0123456789)
4
Page 2 of 14
SN Bus Econ
(2021) 1:4
Introduction On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Amongst the main emergency measures taken by local governments was the temporary suspension of all social, cultural, leisure and recreation activities, followed by the closing of non-essential businesses, including cultural institutions and industries. By contrast, the demand for cultural and creative content has intensified throughout the lockdown period, with digital access having become more critical than ever before. Paradoxically, despite the crucial role played by culture in times of isolation and resiliency, economic indicators predict that the cultural sector will be one of the most affected by, and probably one of the latest to recover from the pandemic and its consequences (UNESCO 2020). The systemic uncertainty created by the crisis has indeed generated asymmetric effects on the arts and culture, an
Data Loading...
