For many of us creatives, lockdown has stripped away all the entertainment privileges we took for granted. We long for a trip to the theatre, a visit to a museum or an art gallery and we desperately want to attend our dance classes again (in person).
The arts and entertainment industry took a huge blow when the pandemic hit which forced many theatres, showrooms and dance schools to close all around the country, which then caused masses of people to become unemployed.
The performers, the designers, the script writers, dancers, make-up artists and everyone else who works behind the scenes have been unable to book jobs while a lack of funding has failed to accommodate for problems caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Data published by the Office for National Statistics demonstrates a significant drop in job vacancies in the arts, entertainment and recreations sector, with approximately 6,000 available across the UK in December-February 2021.
Lamis Khan, 23, is a dancer, model and entertainer from Manchester. She has really struggled to progress and build her experience in this extremely competitive field as the effects of Coronavirus left her unemployed. She said:
“It has been so sad. Last year I was really on a role with jobs and being in my second year at university it’s very difficult to land positions as you don’t have that much experience behind you. I was offered the opportunity to go and work in Malia as a dancer for the Summer. It was just the dream job and then Coronavirus hit and it just disappeared.
“I’m gutted because I haven’t been able to keep the jobs going and networking became really difficult as well. It’s really who you know who can help you progress and at the minute we are in lockdown so it’s really difficult to be seen.”
Research conducted by Oxford Economics in 2020 said the ‘UK’s creative industries are on the brink of devastation’ as they predicted over 400,000 creative jobs could be lost in the UK as a result of the pandemic. Young people have been the first to go with companies making budget and staffing cuts in order for their business to survive.
In March 2021 the House of Commons Library shared statistics showing the unemployment rates for young people aged 16-24 has increased by 11%, making a total of 59,000 young people in the UK unemployed.
Lamis has experienced this devastation first hand, and she expressed further concerns for school children who will not have the opportunity to experience the arts the same way older generations have. She said:
“When you’re a child having different hobbies is crucial for good development but with the Government and society diminishing the arts and entertainment industry, it’s leading them to think dance is an unreliable path.”
Rachel Emms, senior lecturer and programme leader of performing arts at the University of Sunderland, expressed a similar concern for younger children in the halt of teaching subjects such as dance, drama and music.
“Children have not been able to have the arts visiting in schools or any educational institutions which means they are not being able to learn through the arts. They also haven’t been able to sing and dance and interact in these ways, which impacts the way children express themselves and make connections with each other.”
In a bid to save cultural, arts and heritage institutions, The Government made a £1.57 billion investment in July last year but many said this would not be enough to save decades of minute funding.
Chief Executive of Arts Council England, Darren Henley, shared his appreciation for this investment on his blog but also confessed “this money, significant as it is, will be nowhere near enough to support organisations to emerge from the crisis unchanged.”
With social distancing rules and unruly lockdowns, many in the arts and entertainment industry turned to technology and started hosting classes and shows online in attempt to keep their businesses afloat.
Emily Lewis is a dance teacher and the owner of Sunderland-based dance studio ELDance. She explained her experience as extremely “trial and error” while she learnt to accommodate for the new normal.
“People can’t engage like they used to. In reality, I’ll be on my own filming a Facebook live and seeing people comment on the video. It has got that essence of community but it’s far from what’s normal.”
Emily was able to act fast when things began to move online as she had noticed her students being in and out of isolation and managed to accommodate for the unreliable nature of the pandemic.
Despite this quick transition, Emily shares similar views to Darren Henley as she agreed there was not enough support given to the arts in this difficult time.
“They pummel money into sport but when it comes to the arts, it’s expressive for people so the imbalance has really been dreadful. For a child, going to dance might keep them from being naughty or stop them from being down.”
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