How will Academies Change as a Result of Covid-19?

Covid-19 has changed performing arts teaching and learning, and art forms themselves. It has presented Academies with new opportunities to reconsider how students should be taught and what students should be taught and has transformed art forms by forcing artists and arts companies to innovate in the production, presentation and promotion of their work. Consequentially, it has changed what students will do following graduation, and the paths they might take long into their professional careers.

These changes create challenges for senior leaders of academies and conservatoires. How should they respond? How should they alter strategic plans for the coming 5 – 10 years? In this webinar we talked with three senior Academy leaders to find out how they were responding to the ‘new normal’.

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The key 'takeaways' from the report are:

• Covid-19 has thrown institutions into a 'dark room'. By attempting to 'feel our way out' we've rediscovered aspects we weren't able to see when the light was on. These have created revelations and learning within our institutions.

• A number of issues affecting Academies have been in the background for some time. The pandemic has brought them to the foreground and accelerated changes.

• The switch to online performance might in many ways help to democratize performances by making them more accessible to people.

• Expect a push towards greater sharing and internationalisation across the sector in the coming years and different institutions find new ways to work together.

• Whilst online learning has been a revelation in many ways, the informal learning that takes place outside of the formal curriculum, through casual conversations over a cup of coffee for instance, is something we must guard against losing.

• Academies have demonstrated that they are able to change rapidly if the context requires it.