The Canadian arts sector has suffered more than almost any other industry during the pandemic, says a leading cultural research firm.
The sector, along with the travel, accommodation and food services industries, has been amongst the hardest hit, says a recent blog post by Kelly Hill of Hill Strategies Research.
“This particularly troubling in a sector in which precarity was already widespread,” says Hill. “The health and well-being of artists (financial, physical, mental) and the viability of many arts organizations are at risk.”
Hill notes that it’s hard to measure the levels of arts precarity accurately because recent economic data is not specific enough but points to a variety of data that indicates decreased employment levels and high stress.
One analysis indicates one in four arts, entertainment and recreation workers lost their job in 2020, while a survey suggests more that six in 10 cultural workers faced stress or burnout, with even higher levels reported by BIPOC artists.
The median income of artists was already 44 per cent lower than all Canadian workers in 2016, according to earlier research.
Source: Hill Strategies Research