[Desk Column] Directly Support Individual Cultural Artists

[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Jinsoo Lee] The performing arts sector has faced an unprecedented crisis due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The Korea Performing Arts Management Association lamented in a statement released on the 10th that sales in the first quarter of this year have dropped by 70-100%, and that a large number of workers have had zero income for the past four months.

Of course, authorities have been rolling out measures such as low-interest loans for artists and emergency support funds. However, support or grant programs offered by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Arts Council, Seoul City, and the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture have been analyzed as overlapping in content, having ambiguous eligibility criteria, restricting qualifications, or favoring cultural artists or organizations that have previously received support.

This is why criticism continues to arise among cultural artists that these support programs are more about boasting than actual help.

The most problematic issue is the lack of direct compensation for individual cultural artists’ damages. For example, subsidies for venue rental fees ultimately benefit the landlords. They are not direct compensation given to the cultural artists themselves.

On the 29th of last month, the Performing Arts Labor Union urged, “Provide emergency direct support to performing artists so they can immediately sustain their livelihoods amid the COVID-19 performing arts disaster.” They criticized the measures introduced over the past few months as “cosmetic low-interest loan programs” and “support disconnected from the field.”

A significant number of cultural artists are desperate for support measures that directly help their livelihoods. Emergency support funds have low interest rates but must be repaid eventually. For the majority of cultural artists with low income, this inevitably becomes a burden.

Members affiliated with institutions such as Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Seoul Arts Center, or the National Gugak Center at least meet audiences through online performances without spectators. However, the situation for cultural artists working as freelancers is vastly different.

The crisis faced by cultural artists due to the complete halt of performances is not unique to Korea. For example, on the 7th (local time), Greek painters, musicians, and actors held a protest in Syntagma Square in Athens, the capital, demanding support for artists affected by lockdown measures due to COVID-19.

In response, countries like Germany provide “immediate support funds” of up to 9,000 euros (about 12 million KRW) for three months to cultural creators. This support, which does not need to be repaid, is paid out in cash immediately.

France has decided to provide subsidies until August next year to cultural workers such as actors, dancers, stage designers, and musicians who have lost work due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Japan also announced that freelance workers including cultural artists whose income has decreased by more than 50% compared to the same month last year due to COVID-19 will receive up to 1 million yen (about 11.5 million KRW) per person in subsidies.

Freelance cultural artists are the ones left in the blind spots of liquidity support. However, in these difficult times when everyone is struggling to make a living, they suffer silently, fearing criticism for complaining alone.

In this situation, it seems that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which should coordinate and manage the responses of affiliated institutions as a whole, lacks a unified support system. Moreover, it is clear that the culture of attendance will change after the COVID-19 crisis. This means cultural patterns will change. It is urgent to devise systems that allow contactless viewing of on-site arts such as exhibitions and performances, as well as broadcasting for cultural artists.

If only cultural artists with rich experience and foundations who can overcome the current situation survive in the future, this will ultimately lead to the collapse of the diversity base of the cultural arts sector and, further, the creative ecosystem.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.