New Survey reveals Arts Organisations in NI Remain Under Significant Post-Covid Pressures

While there was some improvement on the previous year’s report, with a marginal increase in fulltime employment opportunities over the last twelve months, and more performances taking place, the outlook for the current year remains uncertain. Northern Ireland’s key arts companies have reached 45% of audiences levels compared to the pre pandemic year 2018/19, and prepare for another difficult year ahead, amid extraordinary increases in the cost of living.

In 2021/22, 97 organisations received £13 million in funding support from the Arts Council. All the organisations surveyed for this report received funding from the Arts Council’s Annual Funding Programme (AFP), the largest financial awards made to key arts organisations every year to support year round running costs and programming**. There were no changes to the portfolio this year, with 46% of awards going to organisations based in the most deprived areas of Northern Ireland.

The survey collects data on financial statements (income and expenditure), numbers of performances, participation based events, exhibitions and festivals. It also records details of known and estimated audiences.

Karly Greene, Director of Strategic Development and Partnerships, at the Arts Council commented: “The Annual Funding Survey is a critical tool in understanding what’s happening in Northern Ireland’s arts sector today, providing vital information on finances, employment levels, arts activities and audience engagement. The year under review spanned a period of lockdown from April-July 2021, when venues remained shut, only reopening thereafter to restricted audiences and a reduced programme of activities. The impact of this is evident in the data, with earned income at the box office remaining far below pre-pandemic levels and audience figures down to 2.2million – 45% of 2018/19 levels.

“Core costs are rising, volunteer levels are still less than half of pre-pandemic levels and there were over 40,000 fewer face-to-face activities in the form of performances, participation-based events, exhibitions, festivals and cinema screenings, compared to 2018/2019.

“Looking ahead, arts organisations are facing another hugely difficult year. The sector still hasn’t recovered from Covid and combined with current steep rises in living costs and mounting financial pressures for all, this survey highlights a need for ongoing financial support, if the arts community is to survive and thrive in the future.”

Key findings:

Workforce

• Workforce levels remain suppressed with a 5% increase in overall staffing levels compared to the previous year. Compared to pre-pandemic levels (2018/19), overall employment remains 33% lower.
• Significant increases in the full-time employment of contract staff (up 65% on last year), suggests more hiring of artists by producing organisations, but this is tempered by a lack of movement in the part-time contract market, which did not change year-on-year.
• Females (including trans women) comprise 66% of those employed as ‘specialists’ and 59% of those employed in managerial capacities.
• Eleven per cent of the workforce reported a disability in 2021/22, an increase of 3 per cent compared to the previous year. This is more likely to reflect improved confidence by individuals reporting their disability rather than an actual increase in the number of disabled people employed.
• The portfolio remains predominantly heterosexual, comprising 86% of the overall workforce. There was a marginal 0.6% increase in the employment LGBTQ+ groups and artists were the most diverse group by employment type.
• The age profile of managers is getting older, with the proportion of those aged 55-64 increasing by 8% compared to 2018/19. Those employed as artists and in specialist capacities tend to be younger. 36% of specialists are aged 25-34, compared to 15% of managers.
• Five percent of the workforce was from an ethnic minority background. Artists were the most diverse group based on ethnicity, with 7% being from an ethnic minority background.
• Volunteering levels increased compared to the previous year but were still less than half that of pre-pandemic levels. Each individual volunteered an average 18.2 hours in support of a portfolio organisation.

Income and expenditure

• Earned income remains significantly lower than pre-pandemic, recovering to 72% of 2019/20 levels. Box-office income seems particularly slow to recover, the result of continued, limited consumer confidence. Income from ‘professional services’ increased by 22% compared to 2019/20 as organisations seek to generate income from alternative earned sources.
• Income from public sources is up 30% on 2019/20, with government departments contributions (up 27%) and other UK public sources (up 95%) – this is also likely to represent a legacy from the emergency pandemic support.
• Income from contributed sources, such as sponsorship, remains low as smaller audience levels attract fewer commercial sponsors.
• Core costs continue to rise, up 30% on 2019/20. Salary costs have increased by 24% compared to 2019/20 and are likely to increase further this year as a consequence of inflationary pressure. Core maintenance and security expenditure jumped by over two-thirds over the same period, possibly reflecting the cost of maintaining the aging arts infrastructure.
• Limited levels of in-person performances and productions resulted in reduced programming costs in 2020/21. Artist and marketing costs were still below 2019/20 levels but equipment and material costs increased by 13% to £2.0m overall. This is likely to reflect the increasing cost of raw materials.

Physical engagement

• As reflected in the financial data, activity levels remain 58% lower than in 2018/19. That equates to over 40,000 fewer face-to-face activities in the form of performances, participation-based events, exhibitions, festivals and cinema screenings.
• As a consequence of lower activity levels, physical audiences were reduced. At 2.2 million, they were only 45% of 2018/19 levels.

Digital output

• The use of technologies to deliver live artistic and cultural experiences continues to rise, with the number of new online activities delivered increasing by 43% compared to the previous year. As a consequence the number of online interactions increased by 83% over the same period.

Accessibility and engagement

• AFP organisations employ a range of accessibility methods, to create more inclusive spaces for disabled and neurodivergent people. In 2021/22, physical access methods, in the form of wheelchair access and accessible toilets were reported as provided ‘all of the time’ by over half of the portfolio. Conversely, communication methods, including captioning and audio-description were only provided by a minority of organisations ‘some of the time’.

The Annual Funding Survey is used to provide evidence of the use of funding for reporting to Government and other key stakeholders and it also helps support the Arts Council’s detailed understanding of grant recipients, informing future planning and policy development.

This is the second full year of the current survey format which was revised to reflect changes in delivery methods introduced by clients during the pandemic. Gender, disability and sexual orientation classifications were also updated in 2020/21.

In addition to the report, a data table has been created allowing the interrogation of data by artform type and organisation size (as determined by income). This valuable resource will enable arts organisations to benchmark their activity at a sector level.

To access the report and data tables go to: http://artscouncil-ni.org/research-and-development/research-publications

*Please note, the reporting period for this survey is 1st April 2021-31st March 2022.

** The Arts Council of Northern Ireland offers a range of funding programmes annually for artists and organisations through its exchequer and National Lottery funds. The organisations surveyed for the Annual Funding Survey are those which have received grants through the Annual Funding Programme, the largest financial awards made by the Arts Council to arts organisations across all artform areas including festivals and venues.