This post provides some CHECKLISTS FOR ARTISTS
- thinking about the future and
- wanting to get to grips with the basics of surviving as an artist AND an art business within the context of both Covid AND the Recession.
i.e.
Neither the Coronavirus Pandemic nor the Recession are going away completely in a hurry - so it's time to tease out and get to grips with some of the practical implications for the medium and longer term.
For what it's worth I reckon it will be at least two years before we get back to normal. Possibly three.
In the meantime people have some difficult decisions to make.
"Hardship lies ahead" is the new slogan of the Chancellor of the Exchequer - and he's absolutely spot on.
- Not all businesses will reopen
- Not everybody will have a job in the businesses that do
- Not everybody is going to enjoy the income level going forward that they have had in the past
- LOTS OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO FEEL VERY UNCERTAIN - and lack of confidence depresses spending on art.
PLUS at some point, we'll all have to pay for the enormous bailouts which have been going on around the world - which may well mean tax increases in the longer term.
This post is about translating that context into the PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS for artists and selling art generally and providing CHECKLISTS for
- artists - this post
- future posts re.
- art societies
- art exhibitions
- art galleries
- art teachers
A preamble
I last wrote on this topic in
The Pandemic Recession: Likely Impact on Art Sales and Artists
HOWEVER I gathered afterwards that
quite a few people felt I was probably being too negative and miserable - and that "everything will be back to normal soon".
I wonder if others might also now feel it wise to revise that view?
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered one of the worst jobs crises since the Great Depression. There is a real danger that the crisis will increase poverty and widen inequalities, with the impact felt for years to come. OECD
Now that
- business closures and job losses are now being announced on a very regular basis as we begin to come out of the furlough period (i.e. closure of 8 branches of John Lewis is NOT normal! Nor is M&S reducing staff by 950 jobs.)
- businesses are talking about it taking years to get back to normal AND
- we're seeing some very fierce covid-19 spikes (i.e. second wave) around the world (notably in the USA) as people "got back to normal" much too fast and without taking appropriate precautions
- PLUS as of today we're got local lockdowns in the UK and we're back to no more than 6 people meeting together I think it's time to get serious.
I'm really NOT being negative.
I'm essentially a really pragmatic person who likes to know the parameters of a problem - including the nasty bits!
I'm also a great believer in planning for what's coming. Probably because I'm "
cursed" by a very marked talent for being able to predict what's coming over the horizon - and a very good track record of being right. It has proved to be useful in a career (
sometimes) - but there's always been a tendency to want to
"shoot the messenger!" when people really don't like the message - so I wasn't surprised at all by the reaction to the last post.
I'm going to be like Chris Whitty and Dr Fauci and just keep saying what needs saying until people get it!! :)
CHECKLIST FOR ARTISTS
Just for a moment consider the following scenario - and how realistic it might be.
- Your art galleries close down - and your art gets stuck inside
- Your sales incomes dries up or reduces significantly - because fewer people are buying - because of lack of confidence in knowing how long the pandemic / recession will last
- Your regular Bread and Butter job which pays basic bills disappears - it's happening to a lot of people even if they are working for FTSE 100 employers!
- Your online platform suddenly shuts down - don't forget it's not just bricks and mortar businesses which shut down. Small entities are the ones which shut down in the last recession. Consequently all my blogs and websites are with very big hosts for a reason.
- Your partner loses their job - it happens.
- You will be living on a much reduced income - do you know how much you need to keep a roof over your head - and or how long you can last on just savings?
- BUT you haven't got a clue about....
- what you do that makes money or maximises your income and
- which activity/activities is/are basically a self indulgent money pit
Bear in mind a lot of people have had to face this already.
So now is the time when spending some time on working this out is a really good investment.
Otherwise life may very well come and bite you on the backside when you're not looking!
TIPS: FINANCIALS
Now is a really good time to work out the ABSOLUTE BASICS
- which income streams maximise profit for time and effort expended and
- which represent a really poor return after you take every aspect into account.
