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Monday, October 24, 2022
‘It’s really desperate’: cost of living crisis spells bleak times for British arts venues
Arts funding | The Guardian: When Sarah Munro was first appointed director of one of Britain’s biggest art galleries, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, she would joke about sticking a tidal mill on its side to make the most of its location on the river Tyne in Gateshead.
When we think about theatre, we never truly think about the cost that it takes to upkeep one and keep one running and producing shows. The general public got a glimpse of the importance of keeping the theatre up to date and paying all the bills when Broadway shut down over COVID and all theatre’s everywhere stopped what they were doing. However, now with the world back to a new normal the general public is again in this ignorant bliss of the upkeep that it takes to run a theatre. Britain especially has a reputation for grand theatres and creating shows that are heard from around the world. But now, even the smaller regional theaters are struggling. I didn’t know about the rising fuel costs that are plaguing the UK right now, and in the midst of winter, just keeping the theatres warm is costing companies an arm and a leg. It’s not just theatres too, it's the whole art industry, art galleries and museums are facing the same fate. I am hopeful everything will be able to continue to thrive and make art, but with the lack of an audience and appreciative funds to keep up the building, I worry about the future of the art industry in the UK right now.
It’s really easy to overlook what truly takes to have a theater up and running; productions set aside. When audiences stop coming it creates a lot of repercussions that take into effect fairly quickly. COVID affected the entertainment industry in a unique way, especially within theater. There's a lot of talk about when or if it will all go back to pre-pandemic levels. Logistically it would make sense to try and predict that number; it helps when deciding how much staff to have a what the season or a particular show is going to look like. I do think it would be wise to just take things as they come. It would be/is a lot of scrambling but it may be more worth it than predicting a massive turnout for nothing to come out of it. Especially with how fickle the pandemic has proven to be these last two years.
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When we think about theatre, we never truly think about the cost that it takes to upkeep one and keep one running and producing shows. The general public got a glimpse of the importance of keeping the theatre up to date and paying all the bills when Broadway shut down over COVID and all theatre’s everywhere stopped what they were doing. However, now with the world back to a new normal the general public is again in this ignorant bliss of the upkeep that it takes to run a theatre. Britain especially has a reputation for grand theatres and creating shows that are heard from around the world. But now, even the smaller regional theaters are struggling. I didn’t know about the rising fuel costs that are plaguing the UK right now, and in the midst of winter, just keeping the theatres warm is costing companies an arm and a leg. It’s not just theatres too, it's the whole art industry, art galleries and museums are facing the same fate. I am hopeful everything will be able to continue to thrive and make art, but with the lack of an audience and appreciative funds to keep up the building, I worry about the future of the art industry in the UK right now.
It’s really easy to overlook what truly takes to have a theater up and running; productions set aside. When audiences stop coming it creates a lot of repercussions that take into effect fairly quickly. COVID affected the entertainment industry in a unique way, especially within theater. There's a lot of talk about when or if it will all go back to pre-pandemic levels. Logistically it would make sense to try and predict that number; it helps when deciding how much staff to have a what the season or a particular show is going to look like. I do think it would be wise to just take things as they come. It would be/is a lot of scrambling but it may be more worth it than predicting a massive turnout for nothing to come out of it. Especially with how fickle the pandemic has proven to be these last two years.
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