Retrain, sure. You first Mr. Sunak
Rishi Sunak’s statement on retraining in the Arts Sector was yet another blow to an industry desperately trying to pull itself up from its knees.
As the country’s economy plunges deeper into crisis mode amid mounting unemployment, job insecurity and a pandemic that has demanded we abandon an element of society many thought they’d never miss; rainy day cinema, anniversary dates spent among greasepaint and boards, Saturday nights jostled shoulder to shoulder, feet sticking to floors as a bass thumps through your heart, ribs rattling.
In those heady early days of locked parks and daily walks we watched the archived streaming of the West End and Fringe theatres, we held quizzes based solely on genres of music and virtual culture thrived whilst those who created it scrambled to pay rent, support families, keep their lives afloat. The National’s One Man, Two Guvnor’s was watched by over two million during it’s streaming week. The money raised didn’t touch the sides of what it takes for a theatre of that size keep the curtains up. Smaller theatres just don’t have the financial capital to record past performances for lockdown consumption.
The notion that those working in the Arts are not already doing different jobs as well as the careers they’re creating, shows just how out of touch this Government is with the society it represents. A decade of austerity, zero-hour contracts the norm and a lack of employment benefits has further entrenched a whole sector in elitism and privilege. Those voices calling for change, for representation, are consistently ignored by the gatekeepers and the Arts and its London-centric funding, despite our intent at the Capital devolution, slinks on to the dismay of the North and West. Those working in the Arts have trained, have sacrificed, have devoted themselves to the betterment of our lives. Libraries at the heart of community, many now acting as foodbanks, galleries, therapists and teachers — the Arts are an intricate pattern in the fabric of society — not merely the fringing at the end.
The role of the Arts in society is not only to entertain, to bring joy in communion, but also informs, protests, critiques and subverts the issues in society, allowing the perspectives of others to be seen and heard. Losing voices is hierarchal. It is no secret within Government that the voices heard most often adhered to are White, male, rich. Adios, people of colour, women, the working class. Say goodbye to the stories we live, relate to, now more than ever need to know. Whose culture is Culture? Whose art is Art? Whose voices worth listening to?
The irony has not been lost — as school budgets are slashed and the curriculum carved up, it is music, drama and art left to the way-side — except for those schools given tax breaks educating the dynasties of Culture. And Politics.
We can’t “pretend that everyone can do the exact same job that they were doing at the beginning of this crisis”. The evidence is there in unemployment numbers, but whilst we’re looking at retraining, let’s not forget where the head of this crisis lies.
