During the COVID-19 pandemic, the visual arts have served as an emotional outlet, a public health platform, and an entertaining distraction. And by the looks of the world’s first coronavirus art museum or various masterwork reenactments, people are employing the medium to fine effect.
Yet the popularity of art is no salve for the art industry’s pain. According to a worldwide survey of art dealers conducted by the Art Newspaper and Maastricht University professor Rachel Pownall, the world’s art galleries expect an average annual revenue loss of 72% this year. Moreover, 34% of survey respondents feared they would not endure the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus.
The Art Newspaper conducted its research on 236 international art and antiques dealers and galleries during the second and third weeks of April. United Kingdom–based respondents predicted the worst drop in revenue, at 79%, whereas continental Europe had the least negative outlook at 66%. Almost two thirds of small businesses reported that they were unlikely to survive COVID-19’s economic fallout, whereas three quarters of galleries employing 10 or more people claimed they would make it through. The larger galleries also reported healthier financial reserves. Correspondingly, decreased sales ranked as survey takers’ biggest source of anxiety, while 56% expressed concern about liquidity.
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“It is devastating that we may see up to a third of galleries facing closure during this pandemic,” Rachel Pownall is quoted saying in the publication’s results. “Liquidity is key in surviving commercially. Business schools have long taught that ‘cash is king’ for business success, and short-term access to cash and availability of low-interest loans are vital to ensure solvency. It is imperative that governments and financial markets provide cheap and plentiful access to additional financial support to all those who need it.”
The survey also measured employee furloughs and the ability to pay rent, and made room for qualitative data concerning access to government aid and the types of relief programs that are best suited to the industry. The Art Newspaper adds that its survey results are commensurate with a recent Comité Professionnel des Galeries d’Art survey in which a third of French gallerists predicted that their businesses will have to shut down by the close of this year.
Both sets of results are echoed in the cultural sector. In spite of museums’ herculean efforts to reach the public during coronavirus-related closures, American cultural institutions had lost $4.5 billion in revenue as of mid-April. In March, the American Alliance of Museums had estimated that 30% of the nation’s museums could shutter permanently without federal stimulus aid; more detailed results from the Museum Coronavirus Impact Survey should be released next month.
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