What You Can Learn From Artists
There’s so much to learn — even from seemingly unrelated occupations.
It’s easy to have tunnel vision.
If you’re a software developer or programmer, you might be tempted to every problem through lines of code. You might ask, “how might an app solve the problem?” Or maybe you’re a motivational speaker, so you ask “how can I help inspire the person so they can change?”
But the world is much more multidimensional and we’re wiser when we have an understanding and compassion for other perspectives. At the very least, it helps us see the world through a more holistic lens.
The Performing Arts
The performing arts is a challenging occupation because it requires excellence to captivate and engage an audience, and keep on doing it!
You have to memorize pages of text.
You have to adhere to a disciplined regimen.
You have to travel extremely frequently — basically the life of a consultant — on your own dime often times.
You have to take on the persona of the character you’re representing, even if you’re going through a lot of personal challenges.
…
And much more.
These challenges intensified over the past two years as the performing arts were shut down and performances were postponed.
Revitalization Amid Challenges
Fortunately, after two years of stop-and-go closures, Broadway will soon be home to more openings than any other April in the past 10 years. And yet, a wave of actors, including Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, will miss performances due to COVID-19.
While there is no doubt their understudies will shine in their absence, it’s easy to forget about the many lesser-known performing artists.
Indeed, what about the “starving artists” — singers, instrumentalists, conductors and other arts professionals — that bring joy and laughter to millions annually? How are they holding up?
To understand more about the lives of performing artists, particularly as they rebound from the pandemic’s closures, we in Living Opera launched a crowdsourced survey, “The Global Well-being Among Artists in 2021.”
While the sample consists of 265 respondents at the time of writing, the results are still striking.
- 26% said their annual household incomes were between $25,000–50,000, and 43% said theirs were less than $25,000. These numbers signal significant declines from annual incomes in 2019.
- 53% said they have a job outside the music sector, often in a retail, customer service, or administrative occupation, to support themselves — even if such jobs do not utilize their specialized skill set.
- 54% were formally diagnosed with anxiety or depression.
- Nearly 50% said that the greatest factor behind their eagerness to practice their craft is the presence of an upcoming gig or competition, so when those options get taken away, artists naturally feel something is missing — besides just their paycheck.
The life of a performing artist is already challenging outside of a global pandemic. Coupled with the financial precarity of the job and the struggle that the sector has had over the past two years with theater closures, performing artists may suffer even more from mental health challenges.
Paths Forward
Fortunately there’s still good news — the show must go on!
After nearly two years of cancellations, theaters are starting to reopen with new schedules featuring regular performances. Moreover, more state and local leaders are thinking of new ways to stimulate both artist and audience members to return to the theater and creative work.
For example, Mayor Steven Fulop of Jersey City has announced a participatory budgeting program so that residents can weigh in on how public funds are used, ranging from the arts to public spaces. In fact, they just opened the Arts and Culture Trust Fund, which will distribute $850,000 to support local artists.
While these initiatives, among others, are much needed and exciting, there is more work to be done. For starters, we need to know more about the lives of artists, ranging from the challenges to the dreams, so that they can have a seat at the table in public policy conversations.
That’s why we launched the Global Well-being Among Artists in 2021 survey. It’s a small step forward, but an important one: we cannot fully advocate and develop creative strategies for the arts without data and information.
The world is changing rapidly! Let’s learn from the resilience of artists and the excellence of true craft, and do what we can to contribute to a better understanding and cultural recognition of arts in society.
This article was written by Christos A. Makridis, the Chief Technology Officer and Head of Research at Living Opera. He is also a research affiliate at Stanford University’s Digital Economy Lab and Columbia Business School’s Chazen Institute, and holds dual doctorates in economics and management science & engineering from Stanford University. Follow us at @living_opera!
