Re-imagining a post COVID-19 world

One year after taking part in the Valetta Atelier (23-29 March 2019), some of its alumni initiated an online gathering to reconnect and share stories on how the global COVID-19 pandemic is affecting their festivals and communities. Mentors from the programme and alumni of other Ateliers also joined the conversation.

Each person shared a short update of the situation in their country, how this was impacting their festival and livelihood, their most pressing concerns and challenges, and any creative solutions they had come across or were pursuing.

While we are still trying to grasp what is going on, with most of us currently in quarantine or going into lockdown, we are simultaneously trying to understand what this may mean for the future of arts, festivals and society as a whole. Some early questions and outcomes where formulated during this first informal meeting which you can find below.

We hope these discussions inspire us to find the courage and creativity to take this crisis as an opportunity to dare and re-imagine a post-COVID-19 world. What are the key lessons from this crisis, for humanity as a whole, what do we want to see changed, how can the arts and festivals play a leading role in this transformation?

As a result, an alumni working group has been set up which will gather bi-weekly to continue sharing our stories, to tackle some of these issues more in-depth and to collect information and ideas that come out of these sessions with a broader community. Please follow us online here.

While experiences and responses to the crisis were wide-ranging, the group shared five key thoughts and questions to start with:

1. Programming/producing a festival in an uncertain climate is extremely challenging. Participants with festivals in late summer and autumn discussed when to “make the call.” With fiscal responsibilities and relationships with stakeholders emerging as key concerns in this area.
2. Can (and should) you move to a festival online? The group debated the benefits and downsides to digitizing festivals originally designed for in personal participation. While one person had moved their festival completely online, others lamented the ability to experience art in person with others. Participants discussed the logistics of curating and delivering online content and the possibility of other (non-digital) ways to enjoy culture during social distancing (musicians playing from balconies, for example).
3. What is the economic impact of this pandemic? Multiple people raised financial concerns. Participants asked about ways to monetize online festivals and if, once the restrictions on gatherings are lifted, if people would still want to go to theatres, galleries, concerts, or any crowded public space.
4. The wellbeing of artists is important. Overwhelmingly the group expressed the need to take care of artists during this time. Participants discussed how to provide holistic support for artists, raising concerns around wellbeing, financials, and the nature of creative work.
5. As a global alumni network, the discussion highlighted both a sense of international solidarity and the stark differences in how we experience this pandemic. The economics, healthcare systems, and political regimes where we live impact how this pandemic affects us, as do individual factors such as age, living situation, health, or means of income. What happens to people unable to access medical aid or those whose living situations make it impossible to observe social distancing? How might fragile democracies or authoritarian regimes use this pandemic as an opportunity to further limit human rights? These challenges are central to the arts and to effectively address the points above, it is essential to account for these varied realities. Any strategies or solutions moving forward will likely require both global understanding and local knowledge.

“There’s a lot of talks here about putting performances and so online but there’s not overmuch knowledge about how to monetize that so people are quite desperate in terms of productions and festivals being cancelled... but people just don’t know how to put things online and how to generate an income through it.”

“My own artistic practise is embedded in how you bring people together in an intimately digital way and have a feeling of connection despite being geographically dislocated ... So moving to an online space didn’t feel as terrifying as it might do if you’d not come into it from that angle.”

“I would not make an online festival. Our festival is so much about meeting people, having the people from the countryside and the people from the city come together... and it’s also a financial thing if we make an online festival where can I make the money from the tickets?”

“Even if we are able to control the spread, people are going to be very anxious to go back into a theatre or concert venue with 2000 people at the same time. There’s been a lot of discussion on this shift in the performing arts...there’s been a lot of talk about moving into outside venues where people can have more control of their personal space and what this means.”

“In the short term, their [resident artists’] income is not under threat but their mental wellbeing is actually a threat. It’s a big challenge so what I’m starting is to hold hangouts with them to check on how they are fairing, how healthy they are, but especially how they spend their time at home and provide them with any tools I can; new articles or music to practice, to stimulate them to do research. It’s a small thing to do but as a programmer and manger I feel responsible for their mental health.”

“I’m getting sick of this online world... really I think community and festival are about interaction.”