Centre for Performance Science investigates the impact of Covid-19 on arts and culture professionals
Tuesday 8 December 2020
The Royal College of Music and Imperial College London’s Centre for Performance Science (CPS) has launched a study to investigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on professionals in the arts and culture sectors.
HEartS Professional will build on the HEartS survey launched in April 2020 to discover the health, economic and social impact of Covid-19 on professionals in the industry and provide knowledge, leadership and advocacy on behalf of the sector.
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, HEartS Professional will measure the impact of the pandemic through long-term tracing of its effects and identification of emerging trends. The project will have four main strands, including the large-scale, longitudinal HEartS survey, through which the research team hope to hear first-hand from people working in the arts to determine where the challenges lie and how they have evolved over the course of the pandemic.
The first iteration of the survey launched in April 2020 and the second phase is live now. Those working in any area of arts and culture are invited to take part in order to provide valuable first-hand insight. There are separate surveys for those living in the UK, USA, Canada or Australia, so please use the links below to choose the one that suits you:
Following the second phase of the survey, the research team will begin studies in individual arts and culture sectors, champion innovative responses to the crisis through a series of multimedia case studies and examine the role of digital innovation and rapid design to ensure that arts and culture professionals have tools available to interact, sustain their work, and serve their communities.
Professor Aaron Williamon, HEartS Professional’s lead researcher and Head of the Centre for Performance Science, comments: ‘Investigation into the health, wellbeing, and financial impacts of Covid-19 on arts and culture is urgently needed in order to lead to tailored knowledge, leadership, advocacy and new ways forward. The first phase of our survey suggested that the effects of Covid-19 on professionals in these sectors can be very different, so I am looking forward to the further insights that the second phase and our wider HEartS Professional project will provide.’
Visit the Centre for Performance Science website or find out more about Research at the Royal College of Music.
