Life Worth Living

On 17 November 2020, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, T.D. welcomed the publication of Life Worth Living, the Report of the Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce.

It has been widely acknowledged that the impact of COVID-19 on the Arts/Culture sector has been more detrimental, and will last longer, than in nearly any other sector. Almost all activity has stopped and it is likely that for many parts of the sector it will be among the last to restart.

The Taskforce makes a number of recommendations, for the sector’s survival until it fully opens up again. This includes how it can retain the artists and the wider creative, technical, production and support workforce, with their skills and talent, so that there are still arts, culture and entertainment events for Irish audiences and foreign visitors to enjoy in better times.

Life Worth Living report recommendations include:

• income, taxation and financial provision measures;
• education and training supports;
• technology supports;
• mental health supports;
• social protection measures;
• copyright measures

The report can be viewed in full here. You can read more about the announcement of the report's publication here.

Survive, Adapt, Renew

Survive, Adapt, Renew , a report of the special Advisory Group established to identify ways for the arts sector to deal with the Covid-19 crisis, was published in June 2020.

The report made a number of key recommendations to support the arts through the COVID-19 crisis, and in reviewing these, the Arts Council has committed to:

• giving priority in additional funding to enhanced commissioning schemes and increased bursary and professional development schemes.

• working with the arts sector to address challenges of digital dissemination and adapting existing physical spaces and exploring new spaces.

• working to restore public confidence in attending live events.

The Advisory Group report is available for download here.

EY report on the Employment and Economic Impact Assessment of COVID-19 on the Arts Sector in Ireland

In June 2020, a study of the economic impacts of COVID-19 on the Irish Arts sector commissioned by the Arts Council was published. Among its findings, the report outlined that in 2020, the recession of the arts sector will be between -34.6% and -42% compared with -11% in the Irish economy as a whole. This was projected to cost between €250m and €300m to Irish GDP. The full report is available here.

A further update on this report was published in September 2020 and revealed that unemployment in the arts next year is likely to be far higher than in the rest of the economy, and without a co-ordinated plan a quarter of all arts jobs could be lost by the end of 2021.

Publishing an update of an Employment and Economic Impact Assessment by global consultants EY, the Arts Council said the arts could act as a ‘civic force field’ during the crisis and should be at the heart of Ireland’s recovery strategy.

The full report is available for download here.

Arts During Lockdown - Public Sentiment Research

Market research firm Behaviour and Attitudes carried out research on behalf of the Arts Council in early June 2020 to establish public attitudes to attending live events and mitigation measures. The research also covered participation in online arts activity and attitudes to payment for online arts.

The research report can be downloaded here.

A video presentation on the research by John O’Mahony of Behaviours & Attitudes can be seen below or at the link here.

Arts in lockdown research from Arts Council on Vimeo.

Public Sentiment Research – Second Phase

A second phase of research to establish public attitudes to attending live events and participating in online arts activity was published in December 2020. The research is available to download here.

A webinar presentation on the research findings can be viewed below.

Arts during Covid-19 research from Arts Council on Vimeo.