COVID-19 recovery policies of the EU cultural sector

Abstract

After three years of disruption caused by COVID-19, the consequences in the cultural sector in the EU remain significant. Throughout the lockdown periods, the cultural sector was one of the most affected and will be one of the slowest to recover. The current state of knowledge on the subject is still limited and mainly focuses on predictions of the pandemic’s impact on the cultural and creative sector in the EU. Early responses have been extensively researched ((Belitsk et al. 2021, Bentkowska 2021, Betzler et al. 2020, Bratianu 2020, De Vet et al., 2021, Gokmem 2021, Gotthardt et al 2023, Kumar and Vuilliomenet 2021, Nemec and Špaček 2020, Nicolescu and Dincă 2021, Ost and Saleh 2021, Radermacker 2020, Saebra et al. 2021, Suciu et al. 2021, Travkina et al. 2020, Tubadji 2021, Wolff and Ladi 2020), but the sector still lacks a comprehensive study of the effects of measures adopted on various aspects such as the impact of the pandemic on the lives of artists and cultural workers, disparities in financial support, societal well-being, audience engagement, digitalization, and socioeconomic system reconstruction.

Throughout the recovery process, recommendations for cultural institutions and industries to make appropriate decisions have been designed at the European, national, and local levels. This paper conducts research on EU cultural policies addressed in the recovery instruments and frameworks, such as The New Bauhaus and The New EU Work Plan for Culture 2023-2026. The research also considers the significance of flagship initiatives such as Creative Europe and the European Cultural Capital programmes, which employ culture as a tool for regional development. By conducting policy analysis, the study aims to highlight the emergent understanding at national and municipal levels of the cultural sector’s potential to catalyze regional development, presumably influenced by prominent EU cultural programmes and directives.