In a recent interview, Timothee Chalamet, an actor, claimed that “no one cares” about things like ballet and opera anymore. This comment ignited a wildfire, gaining traction across social media all over the world. It has even reached the point where opera houses, along with professional artists, have called him and his remarks out. With all this attention, what you think he would have said would be blatantly wrong, but rather it’s completely true. The arts, in fact, are dying as a result of “no one caring.”
While his specific phrasing is tone-deaf, his words are accurate. As humans, we have a desire to create, develop and expand our thoughts and emotions. And for centuries, we have done this through the arts. Yet I believe this expression is still very much present; it is the interaction with what we have produced that is resulting in its slow and painful death. Someone could be hand-painting impactful pieces of art, yet they will have no impact if there is no outreach, no public seeing the work.
Social media accounts for a large portion of this issue, both in positive and negative ways. Currently, many of these artists are active on social media platforms or hold accounts. They may post frequently and even gain lots of views and likes, but this audience is only interacting here. Many do not take what they see from these pages and then decide to attend a show. What may have started as good exposure has really just turned into people clicking buy.
It’s safe to say that this true decline started during the COVID-19 era. As many institutions had to be shut down, their number never really returned to what they were before. Though this may not be the only cause, it does have a large effect. Even the idea of something as simple as more people not having enough extra fun money, given the state of our economy, can have an impact on these ticket purchases and attendance.
All markets of this art community are on an incline. Recent research found that the Art Market Report by UBS and Art Basel showed a significant decline of 12 percent to an estimated market of $57.5 billion. Not one sphere is struggling, but many.
As a dancer myself, I both enjoy and appreciate the arts. Yes, my support matters, yet it will take many of us to help keep it thriving. I do believe if the exposure can get to a point, and people can have enough money again, the arts can live. But, this will take effort by those both inside and out of this respected community.