2020 Will Go Down In History Jonathan Anthony

2020 will go down in history as one of the most impactful years for generations. I cast my mind back to History lessons at school and being taught about World War 2 and hearing how these events completely changed the landscape of Britain. We must prepare ourselves for things never to go back to normal, we will need to form a ‘new normal’.

The creative industries face an uncertain future and financial support doesn’t seem to be forthcoming. It is these industries that provide us with entertainment, joy and for many an avenue for which to release. Thomas Merton famously said of art that;

“it enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”

Although the future of these industries are precarious one thing that hasn’t wavered and in fact thrived is our desire to create. In my personal experience ‘adversity breeds innovation’ and this pandemic is proof of this.

It is my prediction that over the next year there will be a phenomenal amount of new material being released; music, art, literature in specific. This is an amazing thing and something that should be looked forward to.

“Creativity takes courage” most famously said by H.Matisse and it has never been truer. We must encourage individuals to continue to innovate even if it seems hopeless we must continue.

Now more than ever it is imperative that we support our creative institutions in whichever ways that we can or risk losing them for good. I am sure that you have seen that theatres are at serious risk of becoming a major casualty of this pandemic, one of the countries institutions could potentially be wiped out.

The economics of it all are very important when analysing the real impact of losing our creative industry. It generates well over £100bn a year for the UK economy contributing to our £2.8 tln GDP. However, those figures do not take into account the indirect income generated through the services associated with the industry. We play a huge role within society and we must remain robust.

The purpose of this article isn’t to discourage or breed negativity but if we are not realistic about our situation then we cannot deal with the problems that are facing us. As the creatives we must continue to be the beacon of hope for the hopeless and a friend for those that are lonely. It is in these times that our talents are needed the most, we have to stand up and be bold when others are fearful. We need to focus on the future and how can we can protect an industry that is integral for our economy but importantly our state of mind.

Can you imagine an environment without the arts…..