This note draws together information from a number of sources about the impact of the recession on the arts.
We are conducting regular research in order to understand the whole, and changing picture of the way that the recession is impacting on the arts and to inform our ongoing policy and investment decisions.
Our research has highlighted some interesting differences in perspective that we will continue to monitor. It’s important to note that we are gathering perspectives that may change over time so we’ll continue to talk to all these parties on a regular basis.
At this stage it is too early to assess accurately what the impact will be; experience from the last recession suggests that there is a time lag before the impact on the arts is fully felt. Our early analysis shows:
- a serious effect on box office income, sponsorship and donations that this is likely to cause significant difficulties for arts organisations and for artists. We expect this impact to be felt increasingly towards the end of the year and going in to 2010
- the impact on individual arts organisations will depend on their particular business model and circumstances. Arts organisations have a firm commitment to maintaining quality: there is an strong awareness that if one element of an arts organisation’s funding model is under stress, it can all too easily lead to a downward spiral of declining quality, declining audiences and declining support
It is also clear that arts organisations and funders will need to respond flexibly and creatively over the coming period. Maintaining levels of core public funding will become increasingly important in order to protect the investment that we have already made and to ensure the arts can grow after the recession and support the recovery.
Those who would like to be involved in future rounds of this research are asked to contact Jonathan Treadway, Director of Regular Funding on 020 7973 5174 or jonathan.treadway@artscouncil.org.uk.
