When we think about lost jobs and livelihoods destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic, one part of the workforce that is often overlooked is artists. I’ll admit to a bit of a bias, as I have lived with an artist for the past 16 years and have first-hand knowledge of how her world has been impacted.
Not only is she unable to show her work at art exhibitions and galleries, income derived from teaching has all but disappeared. From the loss of her twice-weekly gig as the painting and drawing instructor at an area arts organization to the kids who no longer go bounding up the stairs to her studio for after-school art classes, life as she knows it has changed dramatically. Her summer teaching gig at a prestigious arts academy in Michigan isn’t happening this year, either.
Jeannette is not alone. A new study reveals that fully ninety-five percent of artists in the US have lost income due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly two-thirds, the study adds, have become unemployed altogether.
The data used in the study comes from a survey organized by Americans for the Arts in conjunction with Artist Relief, a group of seven grant-making nonprofits. Using responses from more than 15,000 artists and creative workers, the study details just how much creative life in the US has been impacted in the weeks since the coronavirus first arrived.
Respondents to the survey say they have lost an average of $24,000 in wages because of the pandemic, while 80% of those surveyed do not know how they will recover financially.
Jeannette’s last exhibit, sponsored by the Fishers Arts Council in our hometown, was very fruitful, and she’s been riding a wave of success for the past year. It seems that just as her work was gaining momentum, everything has come to a stop. It’s frustrating to be sure, but we know it could be worse. We both still have our health, and a roof over our heads. And we haven’t lost anyone to this terrible disease. So the complaining is kept to a minimum.
GIVING BACK
While she’s been able to move some of her classes online via Zoom, Jeannette’s days are now mostly spent at her sewing machine, where she draws on a lifetime of experience to make masks, many of which she donates to local healthcare professionals who have been let down by their government. At last count, she had sewn over 500 masks, with more than 300 of those being donated to assisted living facilities, nurses and respiratory therapists. When we take walks around the block, it’s encouraging to see most of our neighbors wearing a mask she has sewn from her stockpile if fabric.
We’ll get through this, we keep telling ourselves. But life may never be the same.
Some information for this post was found in an article published online by artnet news.