Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1226904
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 MARCH 2020 4 THIS WEEK CULTURE Can our cultural sector survive Government's revised covid-19 economic recovery package did offer some relief to self-employed artists by even acknowledging them as members of Malta's workforce, but in speaking to stakeholders in the industry TEODOR RELJIC finds that the onset of the virus may have brought to the fore some already existing challenges for creative professionals on the island BEYOND its more immediate health con- cerns, the covid-19 epidemic is also wreak- ing economic havoc across various sectors all over the world, and the creative indus- tries are certainly not immune to its effects. More so, perhaps, in Malta, where a fully professionalised artistic workforce has yet to emerge as a properly assertive – and as- serted – presence, despite the efforts made by successive governments in coming up with funding schemes to boost local crea- tive production. In fact, it was Toni Attard – creative di- rector of independent arts funding body Culture Venture and former director of strategy at Arts Council Malta – who this week helped quantify and formalise a dis- cussion that was brewing online among lo- cal creatives concerned for their livelihood. Through the Culture Venture platform, At- tard launched a survey asking Malta-based artists to specify just how they expect their income would be affected by post covid-19 quarantine and social distancing measures, which inevitably resulted in both outright cancellations and a negative economic knock-on effect that left freelance artists out of work as commercial clients were forced to nervously train their eyes on an alarmingly narrowing bottom line. Freebies are not an option While the findings pretty much speak for themselves (see box) it's pertinent to note how a vast majority of the 305 total respondents claimed to be at risk of los- ing either the entirety of their income or a large part of it, with 41% also claiming that their families depend on this very income for their survival. A stark prospect that a large majority of both the local and global population is facing, to be sure – hence the emergency need of government interven- tion – but perhaps an undeniably empirical instrument of the survey has shown, once and for all, that the creative industries in Malta are indeed also an industry in their own right… something we may tend to for- get as we continue to look at the arts as a hobbyist field which provides products we all seem to take largely for granted. "Employment figures do show an increase of people working in the arts and I think that more people acknowledge those earn- ing an income from the arts as professionals in the field," Attard says, however adding that, "This does not mean artists working in the sector have significantly improved their employment conditions – as revealed in [an earlier] Culture Venture online survey on artist payments and free culture, artists still work under precarious employment conditions and the current situation has ag- gravated further these working conditions." Stretching creativity to a pressure point The 'gig economy' model tends to be un- sustainable by its very nature in most coun- tries, let alone one as small as Malta where opportunities are shrunk in tandem to our miniscule size. Which leads to most artists holding on to a more established career of choice to sustain their creative work. Chief of these tends to be teaching… a profession that has also been rocked to their core by social distancing measures as educators were asked to adapt to online teaching plat- forms across the board, and pretty much overnight. Pianist Gisèle Grima and visual artist Kris- tina Borg, who both also teach their respec- tive disciplines in both private and institu- tional frameworks, said that while online teaching platforms may serve as a workable temporary solution – and as a supplement to traditional teaching methods in 'normal' circumstances – the classroom environ- ment cannot be so easily replicated, and neither is it ideal that creatives are now suddenly burdened with an additional fact of life that they need to get 'creative' about. "Communicating online is not enough to create projects and share ideas especially when collaborating. Rehearsing with other musicians is completely side-lined at the moment and until all returns to normal, that prospect will not come about," Grima said. Borg, on the other hand, points out how artists are once again being asked to 'be creative' as a matter of course, when their creativity is already being severely tested, and within the parameters of an econom- ic model that does not favour them even at the best of times. "At times I feel that we are really stretch- ing our creative thinking to a limit, where thinking outside the box almost becomes an understatement. Let's not forget that shifting to online teaching and learning is not always possible, especially for practical sessions in the arts. Such virtual lessons are definitely not a replacement but a mere support system to maintain contact and some creative thinking going," Borg said. The art of work, the work of art Borg's observation is a poignant one: we tend to forget that creative labour is also simply that – labour, which draws on re- serves of time and mental energy just like any other professional practice. There are plenty of 'hidden costs' to creative work which goes uncompensated, and the knife is plunged deeper during post covid times, and not just because artists are taking a di- rect financial hit. "It's ironic how as we enter long days of crisis everyone reverts to art and creative practices, to ease out the boredom or to lift up one's spirits. Although I see nothing wrong in that, we need to be very cautious on how the arts are perceived. Creating art is a very long process that requires time and energy and unfortunately, more often than not, these are not compensated. I really wish that society learns to better under- stand the lengthy process that a final work entails," Borg said. In other words, as you're binging on Net- flix shows and other media while self-iso- The impact of Covid-19 on artists in Malta Key findings • 52.8% of the activities providing artists with a source of income were cancelled. • Public artistic events, such as perfor- mances, exhibitions and concerts are the main source for lost income. • 67.2% already suffered financial losses. 25.9% say it's too early. • 32.5% lost most of their income for this period, 28.2% lost all income. • 41% claim that their family is depend- ent on their income from the arts. • Generating income, future work and receiving payments are the three major concerns. • A weekly financial loss of between €250 to €500 per artist is forecast. Source: http://cultureventure. org/2020/03/21/the-impact-of-covid-19- on-artists-in-malta/ Weathering the drought? The mass- cancellation of cultural activities the world over hollows out Valletta, the European Capital of Culture only as recently as 2018