Orchestras Canada/Orchestres Canada

Category: Research

A Pandemic Snapshot of Orchestras

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Visual for the SurveyTo mark one year since the pandemic halted the operations of orchestras and arts organizations across Canada, we are diving into some new data about the situation of orchestras. The National Arts and Culture Impact Survey, which was spearheaded by Orchestras Canada and the findings of which were published earlier this year, received responses from 728 organizations, including 73 orchestras. Comparing orchestras with arts organizations overall helps shed light on some key trends that can help orchestras orient themselves for the gradual relaunch ahead. 

1- Orchestras feel left behind by government supports

Overall, orchestras felt less positive about many of the government supports than arts organizations as a whole. 57% of orchestras said they were not eligible for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), compared to 45% of all arts organizations. Overall, orchestras were less likely to give a positive rating to most government support programs:

2- Orchestras are leading the work-from-home trend

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of orchestra workers have been working from home during the pandemic. Even after an eventual relaunch, 50% of the orchestral workforce is expected to continue working from home. This proportion doubles pre-pandemic levels (26%) and is higher than arts organizations as a whole (42%).

3-Orchestras are feeling positive about digital

Orchestras tended to have more positive experiences with digital programming than arts organizations as a whole, with 49% saying digital programming exceeded their expectations versus 35% of organizations as a whole. Interestingly, orchestras are more likely to agree that they have the interest, capacity, knowledge, equipment and technology, and internet speed to go digital than arts organizations as a whole.

4-Nearly one in three orchestras is at risk, others are in a holding pattern

31% of orchestras were either closed or still assessing their ability to stay open. In general, orchestras feel further away from recovery than other organizations. Orchestras were significantly more likely to select “the focus on post-pandemic activities/recovery/assistance” as a barrier to receiving funding (10% of orchestras vs. 2% of organizations as a whole). Paradoxically, orchestras are more likely to feel optimistic about their ability to recover from the pandemic (74%) than arts organizations as a whole (67%).

5- Huge career losses for individuals

Since the pandemic, 83% of artists and arts workers in the orchestral sector have lost at least some work, with 13% no longer working in the sector at all. On average, respondents have been working in the arts for 23 years. At least 71% of individuals reported a lower expected income than what they were originally projecting. The proportion of individuals who estimate an income of under $20,000 (35%) tripled compared to pre-COVID (13%). 

In addition, individuals project more non-arts income in the mix, with just 68% of these artists and arts workers’ income coming from the arts today vs 80% pre-COVID. About one-third of individuals said it would be unlikely they would be working in the arts and culture in three months’ time (February 2021).

6-Increased stress and anxiety

About four times as many individuals report very high or high levels of stress and anxiety today as compared to before COVID-19. Even more telling is that no respondents reported very high levels pre-COVID-19, compared to 33% today. Women are more likely than men to report high levels of stress and anxiety today than pre-COVID, while the difference pre-COVID was minimal.

7- Orchestras Canada members more connected

Organizations affiliated with Orchestras Canada (60%) tend to be more likely than all participating arts organizations (48%) to stay informed by way of national peer meetings. In addition, about two-thirds (64%) of respondents affiliated with Orchestras Canada report feeling informed about sector and government updates, which is higher than 49% reported by all participating individuals. Yay OC community!

Source: National Arts and Culture Impact Survey, January 2021

Are Canadians ready to return to the arts?

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On Tuesday, Sept 22, Chief Data Scientist and Founder of Nanos Research, Nik Nanos shared findings of the latest Arts Response Tracking Survey (ARTS), a partnership between Business / Arts, the National Arts Centre and Nanos Research, which polled over 1,000 Canadians to gauge their attitudes on returning to and supporting the arts across Canada. The fieldwork for this study was completed on July 30th, 2020 and targeted Canadian arts-goers. 

These latest findings offer terrific insight for arts organizations, in particular, fundraisers to help inform programming and fundraising models.

ARTS focused on three axes: 

1- Timing of Return, which tracked the impact of the pandemic and when arts-goers plan to return.

2- Conditions for Return, which tracked what precaution Canadian arts-goers would like to see in place prior to returning to arts and cultural events

3- Donations, which captured reported donation activity for 2019, 2020 and projected to 2021 to understand the likely immediate impact of the pandemic and to plan for 2021. 

Key findings:

 

• Timing of return: 

For indoor cultural activities, 23% of Canadian arts-goers would go back immediately, while 38% said they’d wait 6 months on average before going back. 1 in 3 still unsure about going back.

As for outdoor cultural activities, 37% said they’d go back immediately, 30% would wait 5 months on average, and 1 in 3 are still unsure about going back. 

Museums and galleries are the venues which Canadian arts-goers are not certain about the most, with a whopping 43% who said they’re unsure about when they’d go back. 

 

• Conditions for Return:

Culture-goers increasingly say that masks are a precaution that would make them feel comfortable to attend in-person. This suggests an alignment with public health recommendations. 

For indoor performances, 40% of indoor culture-goers (compared to 27% in May) who plan to attend immediately after reopening want masks. 

As for those who plan to wait 1 to 5 months before returning to attending performances, 43% expressed that they want masks (compared to 29% in May). 

The numbers are very similar for Outdoor performances: the consensus is that people would feel much safer if precautions included masks. 

 

• Donations:

In 2019, 43% of culture-goers donated to arts/cultural organizations an average of $158. In 2020, it is anticipated that the numbers will go down: 39% of culture-goers except to donate an average of $126 , which is a drop of 20% compared to 2019. 

On the bright side, 2021 seems to be promising: 42% intend to donate an average of $222, which is a 40% increase compared to the current year. 

Nik Nanos highlighted the fact that arts organizations will be hit hard this year. However, depending on the economical environment, there will likely be a rebound in donations in 2021. 

It is worth noting that the 35-54 age segment plan to donate less in 2021. This, however, will be compensated by a growth in donation amounts by the 55 plus cohort: their generosity is expected to continue into 2021. 

 

There was a discussion after the presentation by five panelists:

1-  Wesley J. Colford from Highlanders Theatre shared an inspiring success story; This relatively young theatre company, based in Sydney, Nova Scotia, was expecting to go bankrupt by August 2020 due to the pandemic. Instead of giving up, they started a program called “Radical Access”, where they pivoted from selling tickets to a crowdsourcing model by requesting monthly donations. The model has been a great success and they are already at 98% of their funding goal.

2- Irfan Rawji from Glenbow Museum in Calgary discussed finances, and what the Canadian government could do to help arts organizations. He highlighted the example of a UK government program that covers 50% of restaurant-goers’ bills on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. In essence, the government is allowing the public to pick which restaurants will survive. 

3- Monica Esteves, ED of Canadian Stage in Toronto, said that they surveyed their audiences in June, and learned that their audiences were concerned about the company and its survival. At the same time, audiences were not willing to make long term commitments. In response, Canadian Stage is programming and selling their activities in three month “mini-seasons” and will continue to do so for the next 12 months at least. The board of directors reviews progress and approves plans in three month increments, enabling rapid organizational response to emerging situations.   

4- Claire Sakaki, ED of Bard on the Beach (Vancouver), spoke about their 31 year old Festival, which typically presents 300 performances in an iconic Vancouver location in the summer months. Ticket sales and donations make up the largest proportion of their $9 million annual revenues. Transcending physical location, they quickly re-branded to “Bard Beyond the Beach” with a temporary logo, and started “Bard in your Heart”, a brand for donors. At the same time, they re-imagined all of their activities on virtual platforms, ranging from (performances – you didn’t say?) through backstage tours and an annual dinner.

5- Jayne Watson, CEO of the National Arts Centre Foundation, talked about the NAC’s efforts to keep donors connected and happy at a time of great uncertainty.  She noted the strong connection between appealing projects and donor generosity, highlighting such initiatives as the NAC funding 12 theatre companies to deliver socially distanced performances, and the continued success of the Canada Performs series of free, live-streamed performances. She also noted their pivot from their traditional fall gala to an emphasis on individual donations, including a donation matching program. 

Slides from the meeting 

Video of the meeting