Impact Of The COVID-19 Pandemic On The Arts And Cultural Heritage

The COVID-19 pandemic had a sudden and substantial impact on the arts and cultural heritage sector. The global health crisis and the uncertainty resulting from it profoundly affected organisations' operations as well as individuals—both employed and independent—across the sector. Arts and culture sector organisations attempted to uphold their (often publicly funded) mission to provide access to cultural heritage to the community; maintain the safety of their employees, collections, and the public; while reacting to the unexpected change in their business model with an unknown end.

By March 2020, most cultural institutions across the world were indefinitely closed (or at least had radically curtailed their services), and in-person exhibitions, events, and performances were cancelled or postponed. In response, there were intensive efforts to provide alternative or additional services through digital platforms, to maintain essential activities with minimal resources, and to document the events themselves through new acquisitions, including new creative works inspired by the pandemic.

Many individuals across the sector temporarily or permanently lost contracts or employment with varying degrees of warning. UNESCO estimated ten million job losses in the sector. Governments and charities for artists provided greatly differing levels of financial assistance depending on the sector and the country. The public demand for in-person cultural activities was expected to return, but at an unknown time and with the assumption that different kinds of experiences would be popular.

Closures and cancellations

Through the first quarter of 2020, arts and culture sector organisations around the world progressively restricted their public activities and then closed completely due to the pandemic. Starting with China, East Asia, and then worldwide, by late March most cultural heritage organisations had closed, and arts events were postponed or cancelled, either voluntarily or by government mandate. This included galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (collectively known as GLAMs), as well as film and television productions, theatre and orchestra performances, concert tours, zoos, and music and arts festivals.

Following the rapidly evolving news of closures and cancellations across the world throughout February and March, the date for re-opening remained undetermined for most of the world for many months amid several 'false start' reopenings and further closures due to second and third-waves of infections. Equally, the long-term financial impacts upon them varied greatly, with existing disparities exacerbated, especially for institutions without an endowment fund. Survey data from March 2020 indicated that, when museums were permitted to allow public entry again, the "intent to visit" metric for cultural activities should be unchanged overall from prior to the pandemic—but with a shifted preference for the ''kind'' of activity. Data indicated there would be a decreased willingness for attendance of activities in confined spaces, large immobile groups (such as cinemas), or tactile activities; with an increase in interest for activities outdoors or with large spaces (such as zoos and botanic gardens). The most commonly cited reasons for the public to "feel safe" in returning would be: the availability of a vaccine, governments lifting travel restrictions, knowing that other people had visited, whether the activity/institution was outdoors, and the provision of hand sanitiser. By March 2021 surveys of the world's top-100 most visited art museums indicated 77% decrease in visitation numbers compared to the preceding year. Of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, up to 90% were partially or totally closed during the pandemic.

Upon their reopening to the public, various techniques and strategies were employed by arts and cultural venues to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. These included: Reducing the allowed attendance numbers and restricting the number of simultaneous visitors (sometimes through a pre-booked timeslot); mandatory wearing of masks; the provision of hand sanitiser; one-way routes through exhibitions; perspex screens between staff and guests; installation of no-touch bathroom fixtures; and temperature-checks upon arrival.

''The following is a list of notable closures, announcements and policies affecting the cultural sector.
For comprehensive lists:''

Africa

. From 23 March until 31 March 2020, all museums and archaeological sites in Egypt were closed to the public for sterilisation and disinfection. During this period a programme to raise the awareness of the sites and museums' employees on ways of prevention and protection against the virus took place.

. On 15 March the National Museums Foundation announced the closure of all museums from the following day "until further notice". The 2020 edition of Mawazine—the world's second-largest music festival—scheduled for mid-June, was cancelled on the same day.

Americas

. All the museums, cultural activities and gatherings were cancelled in the city of Buenos Aires on 12 March. National libraries continue to offer means of contact through the main educational website of the Ministry of Education.

. Museums which have closed as of 14 March in Brazil include the Museum of Art of São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, the Pinacoteca, the Itaú Cultural, the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo, the Institute Tomie Ohtake, the Institute Moreira Salles, and the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro and the Instituto Inhotim contemporary art centre in Brumadinho.

. A "flurry" of museums in New York, Boston and Washington all announced their closure on 12 March, led by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and coinciding with the New York Mayor Bill de Blasio declaring a citywide emergency. The Broadway League announced on the same day that all Broadway theatres would cease performances for at least a month, even though New York State governor Andrew Cuomo had at the time allowed them to continue at 50% capacity. On 17 March, two days before the first State to declare a "stay at home" order, the American Library Association "strongly recommended" that all academic, public, and school libraries close. Major cinema chains, notably AMC Theatres, declared they would remain closed even after various states lifted their "shelter in place" order, until the expected summer blockbusters'' Tenet'' and ''Mulan'' were released in late July.

Despite being permitted by state government "decree" to reopen on 1 May, many institutions in Texas chose to remain closed to the public, citing health concerns.

Asia and Oceania

. Beginning from the second week of March Australian institutions began announcing reduced services, and then complete closures. On the 13th, organisers of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival announced that the 2020 festival had been cancelled entirely. Opera Australia announced it would close on 15 March. On 24 March the national closure of all cultural institutions was mandated, with subsequent restrictions on public gatherings. Consequently, many cultural events were also cancelled, including the Sydney Writers' Festival. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics by the beginning of April, "Arts and Recreation services" was the sector of the national economy with the smallest proportion of its business still in operation—at 47%. Notably, the tattoo-display endurance art ''Tim'' continued, even though the gallery itself ( MONA, in Tasmania) was closed to the public. In August it was announced that, due to a second-wave lockdown of the city of Melbourne, the Australian premiere of the travelling digital art exhibition ''Van Gogh alive'' would be moved to the Royal Hall of Industries in Sydney.
China. On 23 January 2020 all museums were closed throughout mainland China. As the first country for the virus to spread, China was also the first to close its GLAMs. By mid-March Chinese institutions had slowly and cautiously begun to allow various public activities to be restored with the Shanghai Museum and the Power Station of Art (also in Shanghai) reopening to the public on 13 March. Both had restricted visitor numbers and the latter noted that, "We have also prepared a temporary quarantine area on every floor in case of any emergencies. All visitors must have their temperature taken, as well as present their ID card and registered health code, before entering." Some other private galleries in China had begun to open, as had some institutions in South Korea and Japan with limited service (such as by private tour only). By the end of the month 40% of mainland China's tourism attractions had reopened yet most art venues remained closed.

:. Following the mainland, Hong Kong closed its museums five days later.
:. On 2 March, many branches of the Macao Public Library reopened to the public (with certain areas such as the multimedia rooms and children's reading areas remaining closed), and with the buildings receiving twice-daily "Cleaning and Disinfection Periods".

. The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in Delhi closed on 14 March, two days before Shripad Naik, minister for culture and tourism, ordered the closure of all "monuments and museums protected by the Archaeological Survey of India across the country, including the Taj Mahal mausoleum in Agra." In early July the closure of the Taj Mahal was extended for an undefined duration as Agra was one of the worst-affected cities in the country's most populous state. During the lockdown 41% of the creative sector closed, and 53% of the events and entertainment management sector experienced 90% of their business cancelled between March and July 2020. In July 2020, the Federation of India Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Art X Company, and British Council India launched a study assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the creative economy in India – reporting every four months and including case studies of the sectors' innovative actions, and recommended measures of support.

. On 28 February Japan announced all museums would be closed "until 17 March". Consequently, the opening of the exhibition "Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London" due to open at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo was delayed; many works (notably including Van Gogh's ''Sunflowers'' 454 remained in the museum's own quarantine.

. New Zealand implemented a policy on 23 March that all institutions would be closed. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa closed from 6 pm 20 March. Auckland War Memorial Museum announced that it would close from 21 March. On 26 June the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra performed of Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier to what was believed to be "the first full concert hall since the pandemic began".

. Qatar museums run by the state closed on 12 March. A forthcoming collaborative show on Picasso's Studio's due to be held by the Fire Station and Musée Picasso has been indefinitely postponed.

. On 23 February, one month after mainland China, South Korea closed all museums "until further notice". Commercial galleries began to reopen in late April, with contact tracing infrastructure in place for any guests.

. Annual art fair Art Dubai, originally scheduled for late March, was cancelled a few weeks before the event. The UAE government purchased many of the locally produced works with the intention of their being displayed in its embassies.

Europe

Notwithstanding significant national and sector-specific variations in regulations, most cultural activities across the continent were closed throughout March and April. In the museum sector for example, when tentative re-opening dates did begin to be published in late April they ranged from 22 April (Germany) to 20 July (Ireland); with several countries still having no formal plans (from Latvia to Malta, and Greece to the UK); and with Sweden having remained open the entire time.

. All federal public museums were closed by directors in response to government precautionary measures banning large events and arrivals from Italy. The Albertina Modern museum was supposed to open on 13 March but this opening was indefinitely postponed.

. All cultural activities regardless of size were banned by the government from 14 March, which involved the closure of the Jan van Eyck exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent.

. Weeks earlier than French government regulations required it, staff of the Louvre "almost unanimously" voted to force the closure of the museum on 1 March, due to concerns for their own health. It closed for three days, reopened, accepted only visitors with pre-booked tickets from the 9th, then closed definitively on 13 March by government mandate. Reconstruction of the Notre-Dame cathedral following the 2019 fire was also halted because of worker security. Christo and Jeanne-Claude's ''L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped'', was to have "wrapped" Paris' Arc de Triomphe in silvery blue polypropylene fabric and red rope in late 2020, but was postponed a year to September 2021.

. On 16 March 2020, the German chancellor Angela Merkel announced in a press conference that the government and minister-presidents had together agreed upon guidelines to limit social contacts in public spaces, noting that theatres, opera houses, concert halls, museums, exhibition spaces, cinemas, amusement parks and zoos needed to close. After six weeks, in early May, cultural institutions cautiously reopened their buildings with various measures in place to reduce the likelihood of virus transmission (such as restricting the number of simultaneous visitors and mandatory face masks). The director of the Museum Barberini noted that the one-way system implemented in the exhibition space was a positive because, "We will be able to ensure that people see it in the way we intended".

. On 12 March 2020, the Government of Ireland shut all schools, colleges, childcare facilities and cultural institutions, and advised the cancellation of all large gatherings. St Patrick's Day festivities were consequently cancelled.

. As the worst-hit country in Europe during February and March, national closures were announced on 23 February with an initial physical reopening date of 1 March. Museums outside the "red zone" of highly infected areas in the North were then permitted to re-open as long as visitors stayed 1 metre apart, this was later rescinded and all institution were closed nationally until at least 3 April, then until 18 May. The closure forced the indefinite postponement of the forthcoming "mega-exhibition" of Raphael to be held at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome. Originally timed to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the Renaissance painter's death, it was to be the largest number of the artist's works ever displayed together. On the same week in May that many cultural venues began to reopen, the 2020 editions of the Palio di Siena, held twice annually in July and August, were announced as cancelled for the first time since World War II. Coinciding with the progressive removal of restrictions for travel inside Italy, cultural sites and museums cautiously reopened with new regulations by early June; the first of which was the ancient Greek archaeological site Paestum near Naples, on 18 May.

:. The Vatican Museums closed in accordance with the policies of Italy.

. On 12 March, Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum announced they would close until at least the end of that month and the Dutch National Opera was to have staged the world premiere of ''Ritratto'' by Willem Jeths. It was cancelled and the official premiere occurred via the Opera's YouTube channel the following day. Also on the 13th, having previously announced the reading room and exhibition would remain open, the National Archives announced their complete closure until 6 April. On 30 March, the painting ''The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen'' (1884) by Vincent van Gogh was stolen from the Singer Laren museum while the museum was closed. In April it was announced that allo "cultural activities" (such as theatres and cinemas) would remain closed until 19 May, but that events like festivals would be banned until 1 September.

. On 11 March, a regional government "recommendation" was made that all cultural venues in the tricity area be closed for two weeks. Museums, including the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, and other cultural venues such as theatres and cinemas were then closed by the national government with an initial re-opening date of 25 March.

. On 13 March, in light of recommendations from the national Directorate-General of Health, the Ministry of Culture closed the national monuments of Belém Tower, The Jerónimos Monastery and the National Archaeology Museum. It recommended that regional administrations do the same. On 22 March the government mandated the closure of all arts and cultural activities as part of a national declaration of emergency powers.

. The Garage Museum of Contemporary Art was one of the first to announce its closure starting 14 March. Many Moscow museums announced closures in response to the mayor's ban on gatherings of 50 people or more on 17 March, and late that day the Russian culture ministry ordered the suspension of all public activities by federal and regional institutions, which resulted in many more closures from 18 March. The Bolshoi Theatre reopened in September—the longest closure "since the Napoleonic invasion of the country"—then promptly re-closed following COVID-positive tests from several performers.

. On 11 March, publicly owned museums in Madrid, including the Prado, were closed indefinitely. The Sagrada Família indefinitely suspended construction works and closed the monument to visitors on 13 March and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao closed on 14 March. On 1 July Madrid's Teatro Real reopened, with a modified production of ''La traviata'' to a half-capacity audience.

. On 18 March, the Swedish network and cooperation organisation for public museums of national interest, ''Centralmuseernas samarbetsråd'', recommended all their 13 members to close their public venues if the risk for transmission of the virus was assessed as high in their respective regions. Only two of them stayed open.

. The earliest closures of cultural institutions in the UK were announced from 13 March by Wellcome Collection, South London Gallery, the Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Photographers' Gallery and Amgueddfa Cymru. Many other organisations announced closures on the 17 and 18 March. The National Trust closed all ticketed properties by 20 March but aimed to keep gardens and parklands open, free of charge so that people could access the open space whilst social distancing. It also initiated #BlossomWatch, an environmental campaign encouraging people to share the first blossom of Spring with one another. Also on Friday 20 March, staff of the libraries in the London Borough of Lambeth staged a walkout as they had not been provided with gloves or hand sanitiser, citing provisions in the Employment Rights Act giving them the "right to withdraw from unsafe workplaces". By the weekend many local libraries formally closed with local leaders criticising a lack of nationally consistent policy.

The planned major exhibition at the National Gallery in London of Artemisia Gentileschi, set to open on 4 April, was postponed for an indeterminate time due not only to the gallery's closure but also the inability of artworks on loan from Italy and America being unable to fly during the global shutdown in air traffic.

In literature events, the London Book Fair, AyeWrite Festival in Glasgow, and the Harrogate International Festivals, were also cancelled while the Edinburgh International Book Festival scheduled for August, was postponed. The Glasgow International 2020 arts festival was also postponed until 2021.

Permanent closure

Many arts organisations, cultural institutions, publishers, and production companies, closed permanently because of the pandemic due to lost revenue. For example, by April the art dealer sector expected that one third of commercial galleries worldwide would close—rising to 60% for those with fewer than 5 employees. Notable permanent closures included:
* UK-based classical music artist management agency Hazard Chase announced in March that it was entering voluntary liquidation "in the wake of the COVID-19-induced collapse of worldwide music-making".
* Bauer Media New Zealand announced to staff via Zoom its immediate and permanent closure on 2 April. Management cited the financial strain due to lockdowns given that "non-daily print media were not permitted to publish through the level four lockdown". The NZ government argued that the company was closing of its own accord, as it had not sought access to financial assistance available to businesses during the crisis. Bauer was the publisher of magazines including ''New Zealand Listener'', '' North & South, New Zealand Woman's Weekly,'' and Air New Zealand's inflight magazine ''Kia Ora''.
* The first cultural institution to announced its permanent closure as a result of the pandemic was Indianapolis Contemporary, a contemporary art museum founded in 2001. An announcement from its board on 3 April, stated that "We have concluded our operations are not sustainable. We are not alone as other arts institutions struggle in this crisis."
* On West End, ''Waitress'' was scheduled to end on 4 July, but it closed on 16 March, as West End theatres shut down; the producers later announced the show would not re-open, even though at the time of the announcement, the show would have been allowed to.
* On 4 May, the administration of Carriageworks—a major arts venue in Sydney, Australia—declared it would be entering voluntary administration and closing, citing an "irreparable loss of income" due to government bans on events during the pandemic.
* On Broadway theatres, it was announced in May that it '' Frozen'' would not reopen when Broadway theatres resume their performances.

Changes

Facing at least several weeks of closure of their buildings and publicly-accessible spaces, directors of GLAMs noted several immediate trends emerging: A "concern for staff wellbeing" (ranging from ergonomics to suicide), the expectation from many stakeholders to "move fast, but with drastically reduced resources and not a lot of strategy", "plunging revenue", probable layoffs "starting with casual and part-time staff", and a "rush to get online".

The simultaneous closure of the cultural sector, and home-isolation of much of the public, led to a heightened desire for people to obtain access to, and take comfort from, culture—right at the moment when it was least accessible to them. This accelerated the cultural sector's adoption of digital platforms, which came to dominate cultural consumption and production. Many cultural sector organisations and individual artists turned to providing online activities—from social media to virtual reality—as a way to continue fulfilling their organisational mission and obtain or retain an audience. Individual artists of all kinds offered impromptu performances via their personal accounts from their homes—singing covers, performing live book or poetry readings, sharing their artistic process and drafts, or creatively live-streaming themselves doing both creative and everyday activities. Many publishers relaxed restrictions on the digital distribution of their in-copyright works. Major commercial art fairs such as Hong Kong Arts Festival and Art Basel were cancelled, furthering a shift towards online purchases and the creation of VIP "online viewing rooms" rather than physical displaying at art auctions. The fact that the vast of newly digitally accessible arts and culture content was provided for free, and without geo-blocking, resulted in increased the public and artists' awareness of the global demand for online access to culture, the limits of copyright law; and the expectations of access to publicly funded creative works.

Large-scale examples of newly digital of the BBC
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