Written by Alexandra Kornides

Introduction

In March 2020, the entire world faced enormous change with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Entire sectors of the economy were forced to shut down for the greater good of public health and had to find new ways to operate under guidelines. Arts and culture has been one such sector, with many of the traditional modes of presentation and engagement with audiences disrupted by public health concerns.

It is easy to get wrapped up in the challenges facing one’s own country’s art institutions. However, something can be gained from examining other nations and their arts and cultural sectors’ responses to the pandemic. Through this examination, lessons might be learned about how to continue the response in a time of unprecedented change.

Although Ireland is a fraction of the size of the United States, with around five million residents on the island, it has a very vivid art scene. Ireland has produced world-renowned playwrights and musicians. Cultural preservation is also important to the country: a 2016 survey showed that there are around 230 museums total in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The cities of Dublin and Galway both have strong theatre scenes, with the National Theatre of Ireland located in the former and the National Irish Language Theatre (Amharclann Náisiúnta na Gaeilge) in the latter.

Like every other country, Ireland has faced difficult decisions about how to keep such an important part of its economy running with pandemic limitations and guidelines. Ireland has also had to enact public policy measures and provide financial support to keep its arts organizations afloat during a series of lockdowns. But through the past year and a half, many of Ireland’s arts organizations have found ways to create works that integrate emerging technology and also explore Irish identity.

Covid-19 and the Arts in Ireland

Prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there were several government entities that oversaw the status of the arts in Ireland. Both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have an arts council. The Republic also has a Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Arts. Northern Ireland has the Department of Communities to oversee the arts north of the border.

Government officials recognized the dire state in which a pandemic would leave arts organizations. Both arts councils released reports regarding the economic impact of extended closures that would be felt not only by these organizations but also by the Irish economy as a whole. The Republic’s Arts Council’s report found that the recession experienced by the arts sector in Ireland would be around 34.6% to 42% compared to the 11% of the entire Irish economy. This recession would cost between €250 and €300 million to the Irish GDP. In the North, the Arts Council found that in 2020 there was a 72% drop in ticket sales. A study conducted by Ulster University Economic Policy Centre found that 60% of museum and library jobs and almost half of jobs in the performing arts in Northern Ireland are vulnerable. But perhaps the most startling statistic found by these studies is that, with no action, the Irish arts economy will not make a full recovery until the year 2025.

Knowing the profound impact that taking no course of action for the arts will have on Ireland, the government has provided support in the form of bills that provide financial aid to these organizations as well as public policy and guideline measures for additional support.

Funding

Loss of revenue has greatly affected arts organizations, leading them to have problems paying employees and rent. In order to support the organizations as well as their employees, the governments in Ireland and in Northern Ireland have used legislation to deliver appropriate funding to cultural organizations.

In July 2020, the United Kingdom announced a £1.47 billion rescue plan for the culture and heritage industries. This amount is spread across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In addition to the funds received by the UK government, Northern Ireland has passed a £13 million fund for arts and heritage organizations as part of a £29 million package meant to support arts and culture in Northern Ireland. The package allows museums and other heritage sites to seek up to £250,000 in funding and allows arts venues and organizations to apply for £500,000 via a grant process. However, Northern Irish officials noted in January 2021 that funding had been delayed for some venues. There has been an enormous demand for the funds. Northern Ireland Arts Council’s Chief Executive Roisin McDonough has warned that there needed to be £16 million more to the fund than what was proposed.

The Republic of Ireland has also provided grants to support arts organizations throughout the country. Most recently, a grant program supporting the transition of arts and cultural events to outdoor spaces has been launched by the Irish government. Called the Outdoor Public Space Scheme 2021, the plan is to adapt, equip, and improve public spaces for cultural events that can be enjoyed year round. Additionally, the scheme also hopes to support the expansion of outdoor night markets and exhibitions with grants valued up to €250,000.

One of the most interesting public policy decisions that Ireland has considered regarding the arts and the pandemic, however, is implementing Universal Basic Income for arts workers. Universal Basic Income (UBI), or an unconditional payment made by the government to each citizen, has been policy in other European nations like Germany and Sweden. The support for UBI has been growing recently in Ireland.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Arts Catherine Martin, with the backing of reports from the Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce, has supported the idea of a basic income for a three-year period, based on the Irish minimum wage of €10.20. The payment would amount to €325 every week and would allow citizens to receive other taxable income. Having UBI in Ireland for arts workers would be extremely helpful for those who might be working in the “gig economy” in which one is contracted to work for a brief amount of time.

Government Guidelines

While funding aims to support arts organizations while they are not able to reach full capacity, the Irish government has also set guidelines for the return of in-person events. Like the United Kingdom, Ireland operates on a tiered or “level” lockdown system. Each level represents what types of Covid-19 mitigation strategies are implemented. Level 1 allows for the most movement between space while Level 5 is a total shutdown of most industries and acts as a stay-at-home order.

In the context of the performing arts, Level 1 allows for a capacity of 100 attendees in most spaces and will permit up to 200 in larger venues. Level 5 permits no in-person events. However, there is an interesting loophole to the Level 5 lockdown that allows performing arts venues to operate in some capacity. The Health Act 1947 Regulations 2020 deems “the filming, or other recording of performances in a theatre, concert hall, museum or art gallery, without an audience present, for the purposes of broadcasting such performances on the internet, radio or television” as essential work.

Although filming is an important part of how performing arts venues operate in a time of Covid, the Arts Council of Ireland has used the recommendations from reports such as Resilience and Recovery 2020–2021: Plan for Living With Covid-19 to build a guide for performing arts venues that seek to resume in-person activities. These recommendations include electing a Lead Worker Representative to oversee Covid-19 protocols as well as how to create procedures for suspected cases of Covid.

However, these measures have not been put into praxis because Ireland has been in Level 5 lockdown since Christmas 2020. At one point in the early winter of 2021, Ireland had the highest rate of Covid-19 infections in the world, with 1,323 Covid infections per million residents. As of early May 2021, Ireland is now starting to ease restrictions. With an ease of restrictions and the start of a vaccination campaign, there comes new hope for welcoming back patrons to arts venues across Ireland, with safety measures in place.

Performing Venues’ Responses

Using the provision in Level 5 that permits filming for performing art venues, many performing arts venues in Ireland have created unique programs that are distributed through digital means. To get the best picture of how Ireland’s performing art venues are responding to the Covid-19, one should look at organizations across the country.

In Ireland’s capital, Abbey Theatre (Amharclann na Mainistreach) serves as the National Theatre of Ireland. The theatre is “inspired by the revolutionary ideals of our founders and our rich canon of Irish dramatic writing.” It presents shows both in English and in Irish. Currently, Abbey Theatre is presenting digital performances and, interestingly, backstage tours of the theatre.

Over the course of the pandemic, Abbey has presented “Dear Ireland.” The show, in its several iterations, is viewed as “3-minute postcards from underrepresented voices in Irish society” and asks the question: “What does it feel like to be you, right now, in Ireland?” “Dear Ireland” is presented on YouTube, free of charge, and also offers an Irish Sign Language interpretation on their channel.

Up north, in Belfast, the Lyric Theatre has collaborated with BBC to present “Sadie,” a new play written by David Ireland. The work centers around a Belfast woman as she reflects on her turbulent life and troubled past. This production is the first one on the main stage of the Lyric in the year-and-a-half since the shutdown. “Sadie” is part of the BBC Lights Up, which has produced 18 pieces of UK theatre for television and radio over the course of the pandemic. The works of BBC Lights Up are available on BBC iPlayer, making it only accessible for UK-based viewers.

On the west coast of Ireland, Town Hall Theatre is also presenting virtual works. Town Hall Theatre presents a variety of works—everything from theatrical pieces to lectures to concerts—and many of these have been able to transfer to digital formats. Many are streaming on demand during their “run.” Town Hall Theatre is also involved with the upcoming Ireland-wide festival Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh. Town Hall Theatre is focusing on presenting a national arts program—”Lasta”—for young creatives. Town Hall’s website describes Lasta as “featuring multiple disciplines and reflecting the diversity of modern Ireland, this pioneering project offers a unique opportunity to develop our future arts programmers and producers. This promises to be a fresh, fun, diverse, accessible and exciting festival of events.”

This emphasis on digital experiences might continue into the future, even when Ireland returns to a Level 1 status. Theatres cannot operate under the decreased capacity prescribed by reports, so having virtual options is important.

Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh

With the hope that a growing vaccination campaign and better Covid-19 mitigation strategies provide, many arts organizations are looking to how to present in-person events once more. For Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh, this means integrating emerging technologies into its events.

Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh is marketed as a “10-day season of arts experiences” that will be held in June 2021 and is “casting light from coast to coast as we embrace brighter days ahead.” Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh is in partnership with many arts organization across the country, indicating that the pieces will be specific to the region.

The festival was created by the Arts Council and is supported by the government of Ireland. The program has an emphasis on space-specific performance and the integration of technology:

One of the projects that uses both site-specific elements as well as emerging technologies as part of Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh is “In the Magic Hour.” Created by CoisCéim Dance Theatre, this piece will be located at handball alleys across Ireland at twilight over the course of five nights. Handball is one of Ireland’s native sports and has significance to Irish people who grew up using this space. CoisCéim Dance is encouraging audience participation by having patrons share their stories of handball alleys. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, tickets for the event are limited. CoisCéim will use live streaming to make the production available to a wider audience.

“The Corner of Scotsman’s Bay” is a Dublin-area based project. The project is mixed media, combining spoken word, photographs, and animation to bring the Dún Laoghaire baths back to life. The experience is smartphone-based and encourages real-time engagement from visitors to the site.

While “The Corner of Scotsman’s Bay” and “In the Magic Hour” use technology that is readily available to audiences as a means to explore specific elements of Irish history and identity, “Ar Ais Arís” combines the new technology of virtual reality with something so ancient to Ireland—the Irish language. The piece takes visitors to Gaeltachts (communities where Irish is spoken as the primary language) where they can take in the beauty of coastal Ireland both in person and then with a VR film. The series of three films are inspired by the works of Irish language-writers Máirtín Ó Cadhain, Pádraic Ó Conaire, and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill and combines music, song, and contemporary dance. “Ar Ais Arís” was commissioned by Brú Theatre.

Conclusion

The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the greatest challenges the arts sector has faced in recent memory. Performing arts organizations around the world were particularly vulnerable because of public health concerns with large gatherings. While every country’s situation is unique and was differently equipped to face these challenges, the country of Ireland provides a interesting case study in how both public policy and individual response to the crisis have been important for the survival of many beloved organizations. Through increased grants and funding and adequate guidelines for operations from the government, many performing arts venues in Ireland have managed to survive. It was through looking towards integrating emerging technologies like streaming and VR that they were able to thrive.