Consumption of Artistic and Cultural Products in the Pandemic and the Influence of Technology: Evidence From Brazil

Introduction

Among the various activities affected by restrictions determined by the sanitary measures to combat Coronavirus and prevent Covid-19, the consumption of artistic and cultural products was perhaps one of the most impacted, especially in the initial period of the sanitary programs determined by authorities in 2020 (FGV, 2020).

Some of these offers depend on consumption in loco, such as attending live musical concerts, dance events, exhibitions, museums and art galleries, activities that were restricted with the lockdown decree and social isolation in several countries around the world. Even activities of a more individualized nature, such as the consumption of literature and music, for example, did not escape this transformation either. With the quarantine period, the routines and the amount of time allotted to work, study and leisure have changed, as well as the new ways of living together and the number of people present at homes, which has not always contributed to creating the conditions of isolation necessary for more introspective activities.

On the other hand, the events of the pandemic brought about a huge transformation in the way of consuming artistic expressions through digital media. Isolated and without access to public spaces for leisure and entertainment and, at the same time, demanding mechanisms of well-being and psychological comfort that contribute to mental health, millions of people around the world searched online for content that could provide distraction, escape and spiritual elevation, structured by technologies that determine a new mode of availability and access to artistic and entertainment products. Music, literature, cinema, visual arts, various art expressions were adapted to a new context and alternative forms of artistic offer were created, such as virtual tours to collections, virtual music shows, dance and theater presentations, electronic seminars, debates and lectures. In short, forms that were incipient previously were accelerated and with the technology support, expanded consumption opportunities, even for audiences that did not have such habits before.

Having said that, the impacts must be assessed in positive and negative terms; there are winners and losers within the changes and new conditions imposed by health restrictions. Some types of offers were more suitable for isolated consumption, such as audio and video streaming services, as an example, while other services encountered insurmountable difficulties, such as the cinematographic exhibition sector and theatrical presentations.

Given the fragility of the sector in terms of jobs and income guarantees and the impacts involved in the cancellation of several events scheduled around the world, relief and assistance measures were taken by governments, both from economic nature (emergency funding, grants and financing) and non-economic (creation of new jobs opportunities, training and qualification of personnel and alternatives for presenting content mediated by technology). The book by Salvador, Navarrete and Srakar (2021) presents several European experiences and identifies three central issues in the policies implemented in different countries during the period: (i) the recognition of the non-essentiality of culture and art for society; (ii) the lack of data for monitoring the cultural sector at a critical moment; and (iii) the disruptive nature of the pandemic in the culture and art sector.

This specific historical moment is important as a milestone for understanding the process that involves the accelerated incorporation of technology by art, considering the technical apparatus as a process enhancer, both in terms of production, communication and exhibition of works, as well as serving as a facilitator for engaging consumers with artistic themes, cultural institutions, specialists and with the artists themselves. Increasingly facilitated, this connection between the artists, the event/content/work they produce and want to disseminate, and their audience frees the artistic experience from the imperative of physical spaces and moves towards digital spaces (Dowbor, 2018; Fossati, Gemetto 2011). In addition, the expansion of technological tools domain for production and the ease of connection provided by digital means of communication have created new opportunities outside the mainstream giving voice to independent artists, who united art and entertainment, setting up a new condition for the artistic offer and for the status of the cultural producer (Sogabe, 2016).