The sociological impact of the pandemic on art galleries and transition from physical galleries into virtual galleries
In the wake of disastrous impacts of Covid-induced lockdowns, restricted travel, supply chain disruptions and stagnated economic growth, the art galleries also encountered closures. The exhibitions were cancelled which resulted in the contraction of the sales. Due to the cancellations of art fairs, the art galleries modified their strategies and focus, aiming at cost-cutting, and managing their clients. Additionally, the galleries laid off their employees with an average of 5 employees. The downsizing accounted for 38% (King et al. 2021).
It has been reported that almost 93% of galleries encountered closure in January and July 1, 2020. They were closed for an average period of 10 weeks. Mostly, physical distancing was strictly observed among all the standard operating procedures of covid-19 in the galleries. People reported that there were limited visitors, the interior of the galleries was altered and half of the staff were allowed to work in-house through a hybrid work model approach. The visitors had to wear protective equipment due to the fear of the contraction of Covid-19. Choi and Kim (2021) in their study investigated that there was an increase in emailing and the dealers preferred contacting via phones as compared to other online sources.
Further, it has been explored that many of the gallery dealers did not prefer to use the virtual reality (VR) technology because they had perceived it these were not very useful for the better experiences of the visitors. However, they opined that VR could be made more useful to make better experiences in the foreseeable future (Choi and Kim, 2021). However, the inclusion of technology has added up uncertainty among the gallery regarding salary reimbursement, rent, eviction protection and loan facilities. The closure of popular galleries has created fear among the other gallery owners about eviction protection and bankruptcy. More worryingly, the gallery owners are worried about the reduction in the credit facilities (Dr. McAndrew. 2020).
Impart Photography – The best virtual art exhibitions on view right now (source website: www.stanforddaily.com)
There are also concerns about styles and presentations for the online exhibition among the gallery owners. Thus, “the hub and spoke model” was practised that assisted in distinguishing the online exhibitions from others. Additionally, online exhibitions increased the demand for the uniqueness of the content and offerings likewise in the physically held exhibition where arrangements and emphasis are made on the uniqueness of the offerings for a better experience. Similarly, Guibert and Hyde (2021) have found some changes in the behaviour of consumers along with the loss of unemployment that lodged a burden on the art and culture sector (Guibert and Hyde, 2021). With reference to the online exhibition of artworks, the workers associated with the culture and art reported exploitation via digital platforms. In this instance, there were lower rates of royalty rates which consumed almost 438 streams to get Kraft Dinner. Resultantly, all the celebrities of the music industry preferred online live concerts to earn increased revenues as compared to the sales, generated by recorded music.
Hence, it is not hard to discern that the industry of art and culture have stabilized itself to weather the storm of Covid-19 through the tech-based solution (Jeannotte, 2021). However, it is apparent that technology cannot bring about the experiences and services that were obtained by live experience while accompanying other human fellows.
References
- Choi, B. and Kim, J. (2021). Changes and Challenges in Museum Management after the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7(2), p.148.
- Dr. McAndrew C. (2020) The Impact of COVID-19 on the Gallery Sector A 2020 mid-year survey. Available at: https://d2u3kfwd92fzu7.cloudfront.net/The_Art_Market_Mid_Year_Survey_2020-1.pdf
- Guibert G. and Hyde I. (2021) ANALYSIS: COVID-19’s Impacts on Arts and Culture. National Endowment for the Arts, FEMA and Argonne National Library, 4.
- Jeannotte, M.S., (2021). When the gigs are gone: Valuing arts, culture and media in the COVID-19 pandemic. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 3(1), p.100097.
- King, E., Smith, M.P., Wilson, P.F. and Williams, M.A. (2021). Digital Responses of UK Museum Exhibitions to the COVID-19 Crisis, March–June 2020. Curator: The Museum Journal.
- Chang A., (2020)The best virtual art exhibitions on view right now [Online] November 2020, Available here: https://www.stanforddaily.com/2020/11/19/the-best-virtual-art-exhibitions-on-view-right-now/ [Accessed on 04 June 2021]
