The Revolutions Changing the Performing Arts

Even before Covid-19, the performing arts were changing rapidly. The integration of technology was altering how new works are conceived and created, audiences expectations were changing, and social media was transforming the promotion and sharing of performances. These, and other, influences were challenging the traditions of each art form and reducing the boundaries between them. The process of revolution has sped up during the Covid-19 period, with numerous arts organisations moving performances online and seeking new models for funding their work. To understand how performing arts training might change in the future, we need to grasp how the arts are transforming now and where this might lead in the future. To help us, we are joined in this webinar by Sarah Ellis (Director of Digital Development, Royal Shakespeare Company), David Quah (Artistic Director, Bel Canto Singer) and Helen So (Researcher, Our Hong Kong Foundation Limited). Join us as we seek to identify the revolutions that are changing the arts.

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A summary report of the webinar is available for download.

The key 'takeaways' from the report are:

• Technology and the arts have a symbiotic relationship, each enriching the other.

• The interactive media, software and computer games sector is driving the cultural creative industries, putting arts-tech in economic pole position within the arts. Hong Kong needs a strategic blueprint for supported growth in this interdisciplinary field.

• Genuine artistic collaborations between performing artists and digital specialists are richly promising for practice-as-research, company R&D and as a survival strategy.

• That the pandemic is incubating technological innovation in the arts is a source of optimism. We should trust that technology in the hands of artists will keep the performing arts alive and kicking through ups and downs.

• Despite pangs of nostalgia for live performance, audiences’ appreciation, consumption and expectations of the arts are not static. Research needs to keep track of what audiences want and need so as to stay relevant and commercially attuned.

• Live streaming in its current form is a short-term resource. Longer term, we need to find ways of making online performance more immersive and participatory.

• If you’ve millions to spare, there is a potential investment opportunity in developing a definitive online space where performing artists can share their work and in doing so help make the sector more robust.

• We should each take individual responsibility for supporting the performing arts at this critical time by watching performances and ‘buying art’.

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