Managing in a downturn – Information for charities

For leaders and managers of arts organisations, a new publication from PriceWaterhouseCooper could be really useful. It is called Managing in a Downturn: November 2008 survey results, analysis and key messages and it gives a management perspective on the impact of the recession on charities, including arts and cultural organisations. The whole document is interesting (and beautifully brief) and the conclusions section – with 10 fundamental priorities identified – is especially useful.

 

Is the recession good for the arts?

Over the last few weeks I’ve heard several stories in the press that suggest that the recession is good for the arts. The argument usually goes along the lines of arguing that the arts thrive in challenging situations, the implication being that we’ve had it too good for too long: the recession is shaking artists out of their complacency-funded comfort zones and leading to better, more challenging, more interesting work.

My first reaction to this is to shout – Nonsense! (or something ruder) – and leave it at that. However, the more I’ve heard this argument the more I think it is important that the sector refutes it strongly. Yes artists are resilient, and yes, artists will continue to produce great work in the face of adversity but that doesn’t mean hardship is good for them – anymore than it is good for the rest of us.

Some great art projects are riding the wave of the recession, for example artists in Stroud are using the empty shop units now found on the High Street to present work and run workshops. Exceptions like this project do not prove that the arts, and artists benefit from the recession. There is no doubt that financial hardship will no doubt affect the variety, diversity and quality of artistic experiences available. The impacts will range from fewer individual artists having enough resources to focus primarily on their creative work to large institutions have to make safer programming decisions to ensure they can cover building running costs.

I value the resourcefulness of artists and admire their response to the current financial difficulties. This shouldn’t be mistaken for the ability of the sector to sustain itself in the long-term, without proper funding and support, on the mistaken belief that the sector is better off when facing a crisis.

PS On this blog I have written several articles about the recession and the arts – which can be found below. Toby Young has also pulled together some facts about the impact of the recession on the arts on his blog. Although his facts seem to indicate that the audiences are currently holding up, it seems to me that this evidence holds little comfort when we consider how quickly the situation seems to be heading downhill – while figures might be good for 2008 I doubt they will sustain for 2009!

 

The recession starts to bite

Browsing in a bookshop

Alongside the joy and over-indulgence of Christmas were daily reports of doom and gloom. One retailer after another being put into administration, jobs being lost in manufacturing and the news that housing prices are plummeting to 2004 levels. News from the arts sector is slow to emerge, but I am starting to notice bits of information that emerging in the press. As chair of Tindal Street Press I am particularly concerned about the impact of the recession of book sales, and sad to say, early evidence is that although January to July was a good period for book sales, they took a dive in the second half of the year, painting a gloomy picture for the year as a whole, and for 2009. Information on the sector can be found in The Bookseller who do useful year-on-year reviews.

In the Observer Robert McCrum does a good job of showing what great value a book represents (6-8 hours of entertainment for only £12.99) but in a subsequent article celebrates the even better value of the second hand book. I can’t argue with him, second hand books are wonderful. Not just because they’re cheap but because browsing in a second hand bookshop can lead to surprise discoveries, encouraging you to read things you might never have found in a high street bookshop. Notwithstanding their value, it still means that the book trade will be hit, and this means publishers and writers will suffer too. Even worse, there is a good chance that this will lead to less choice of new books, with blockbusters, celebrity biographies and big names dominating the market.

Other news shows that people are choosing to eat out less. This might be great for the main supermarkets who are looking like they are holding their own during this period, it might be bad news for arts organisations, many of whom rely on their cafes and restaurants to supply a slice of their income.

Overall it looks like a difficult time for the arts, and one where the organisations need to focus not just on their paying audience, but also the situation of their suppliers and partners who might be even more severely affected in the short term than the subsidised sector.

If you have seen other useful and relevant information about how the arts might be affected by the recession, please do comment below.

 

What impact will the impending recession have on the arts?

Radio 4 ran a report from the Frieze Art Fair earlier today, discussing the impact of the recession on the contemporary art market. While the dealers were bluff and confident in their assertion that sales are robust, commentator Louise Bluck was more believable, saying that attendance was high but people were looking at not buying. Damien Hirst’s solo auction at Sotheby’s may have raised £111million only a month ago, but he is an exception, and no conclusions can be drawn about the contemporary art market as a whole.

Some commentators are suggesting that art is a particularly attractive investment right now. Like gold you own something with an integral value, and you’re not at the mercy of fat cats or having your funds frozen, lost or disappeared by some bank’s mishandling your investment. However, all but the biggest collector’s have little chance of making a significant profit from owning art, and the buyer’s should still beware of investing for profit rather than love. An article from The Independent, written in 2002 titled, Beware art for profit’s sake, seems as relevant today.

I have been searching the internet to try and find some research that gives an indication on how arts attendance, might fare during the recession. I must say I can’t find much, except that recession seems to be good news for cinema. During the depression of the 1930s, cinema attendance grew hugely. The assumption seems to from the 30s to today, that cinema attendance is cheap, and therefore becomes more attractive when money is tight. Some commentators add that cinema is escapist entertainment and so it’s exactly what people are looking for when they are finding their day-to-day difficult. Across Wales cinema attendance has been up this summer, and while they agree that people look to cinema to cheer them up during gloomy times, the gloomy times in this instance could also be the terrible, washout we experienced this summer. 

What I can’t find at the moment is more detailed information about theatre or music attendance during recession, and I think this informaiton would be really useful right now. Arts organisations need to be preparing for the next few turbulent years, and the ones who take a measure, strategic and planned approach will have the best chance of flourishing through the recession. If you have any relevant research you can share, or links to useful publications on this matter, please leave them as comments and if there are enough I’ll create a set of links bringing the research together. Please comment with your thoughts and comments too.

In the meantime I thought I’d leave with another resource form my new favourite Arts Marketing blog, ArtsMarket. This ones entitled Audience Development in a Recession Economy and is full of tips for successful audience development in time so economic uncertainty.

See my new post, The recession starts to bite, for ongoing dicussion of this topic.