Shaping a cultural economy

How four dancers have used the pandemic to explore financial sustainability in the arts world

Dancers, both classical and folk, urban and rural, have endured severe economic and artistic challenges during the pandemic. Many, however, have slowly embarked on imaginative journeys to reconstruct, reinvent, and reposition their work to align with the emerging modernity and altered performance landscapes.

Crucial to this process is the devising of models that ensure sustainability of performing arts and artistes. Dancers are beginning to see the need for realistic frameworks and practical strategies to reconnect with paying audiences and to navigate their dual existence in online and offline performing spaces.

More than ever, there is an urgency to recognise not so much the formal as the large non-formal creative sector and, therefore, to develop sustainable cultural economics models around this idea. It is also about recognising that potential target audiences today are under 50 years of age and are mostly online and not offline. Read full story >