Art and Resilience: The Artist's Survival in the Spanish Art Market - Analysis from a Global Survey

Abstract

This article aims to diagnose certain characteristics of the resilient personality in the Spanish artists who developed their artistic careers in the years before the economic crisis that began in 2008 and who have suffered the resulting loss in their activity and their economy. Along with sources of positive psychology that analyze resilience as an individual's personal and social ability to effectively overcome situations of crisis, this paper is based on the research developed by the authors in recent years from data provided by more than 1,100 visual and plastic artists in Spain, a wide survey about the economic situation of this sector nowadays and the evolution since the beginning of the economic crisis. It also seeks to determine whether there is a resilient artist profile, which through personal, social and professional tools, has reoriented his career and maintains his artistic activity as the main source of income. The methodology used, both analytic and descriptive, allows determining not only what characteristics of the resilient personality may be detected in this group of artists, but also which tools they use to survive the crisis in the current art market.

Decommodify the 2030 Agenda: Why and How to Finance What Is Not Profitable?

“…Designing job guarantee programs to meet these objectives and doing so through culture and the arts is a crucial commitment that must be explored for their effective implementation. We know, given the unique characteristics of the labor market for artists and creative professionals [28,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][52][53][54][55]116,117], that we have the human resources available to accomplish them.…”

“…On the demand side for artistic products [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41], the ability to launch a critical and divergent look that enables the individual to question and challenge the current state of affairs, search for solutions, experiment, and ultimately develop the capacities for human development mentioned in Section 5, should not be a privilege of the economically privileged classes. Art education is more important for enhancing the cultural industry than income.…”

“…We aim to avoid Solow's observation that economists only refine their methods without considering the limits of the data [33] (p. 40). Given the particularities of the artist market and the demand for art, our approach is suitable to understand and design the role of the arts in the capitalist system [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41].…”

Resilience of the Romanian Independent Cultural Sector under COVID-19 Pandemic Using the Grounded Theory

“…Being continuously exposed to stress due to financial insecurity, artists and independent creative workers tend to show low resilience to critical events [32]. These professionals feel psychologically rewarded seeing their activity as extremely attractive and satisfying [40]. Hence, by imposing certain boundaries on cultural and creative activities as management measures against the spread of the SARS-CoV2 virus, namely closing galleries, canceling cultural and artistic events, restrictions on the movement and organization of events, subsequently affecting the exchange of good artistic practices, not only nullifies financial opportunities and benefits, but constrains cultural freedom [41].…”

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Independent Creative Activities in Two Large Cities in Romania

“…What functions as the essential criterion for the resilience of the independent cultural-creative sector in the current pandemic is its entrepreneurial ability to create something from necessity within a short time [ 7 ], together with the creation of or joining of cultural associations and networks, which is seen more as a source of reliable support in situations of risk [ 28 ].…”