A renewed sense of purpose in culture

TO say there is uncertainty in the cultural sphere at the present moment seems like an understatement. Has Covid gone or do the current restrictions in such places as Northern Ireland and Germany herald further complications to come? How are visitor audience patterns going to be affected in the long term by the past 18 months of inactivity? When and in what numbers will foreign tourists return?

Indeed, about the only thing it seems possible to predict with confidence is that, whatever happens next, there will be no more Government money to help bail anyone out. The emergency funds so far have been hugely helpful in supporting our cultural institutions, but, quite clearly, the Treasury is now exhausted.

Despite all that, however, the surprising thing is that so much of the cultural sector seems remarkably upbeat. Athena experienced this first hand when she attended the Historic Houses AGM and conference a couple of weeks ago at Westminster. There was no doubt about the difficulties that the lockdowns created; it was, as one house owner observed, essentially a miserable and worrying time about which it would be churlish to complain. Nor was there any illusion about the challenges that loom in the future. Why then, Athena wondered, was there such a palpable sense of optimism?

In part, it was perhaps generated by the unexpectedly positive results from the past year. Despite the compelled closure of so many houses at the start of the season, the numbers of visitors to many properties compares favourably with those of 2019.

That, incidentally, is a pattern apparent across many rural attractions; the peaks and troughs of visiting have shifted, but numbers have been maintained. National museums in London, by contrast, continue to operate in a very different environment. Anecdotally, they are attracting a steadily growing audience, but visitors are about 70% down on pre-pandemic levels—so, if you want to enjoy these places in relative calm, Athena advises that you make the most of it while you can.

Another contributing factor to the optimism, perhaps, was relief. The future may be uncertain, but it does feel as if the worst is behind us. In addition to all this, however, what most struck Athena was a renewed sense of purpose. The pandemic has challenged and strained every sinew. In the process, it has made apparent what activities people have undertaken that are habitual and which ones are actually necessary. Thus, it has also served to clarify what needs to be done. Through the process of surviving, many of the house owners that Athena spoke to had gained a renewed understanding of what they needed to do. They also understood why they mattered. Those are exhilarating realisations and it’s clear that Historic Houses members intend to remember them, whatever the future may hold.

Through surviving, many house owners gained a renewed understand of what they needed to do