Diary Of A Lockdown: Days Forty-Nine And Fifty

27/04/2020 - 28/04/2020

DAYS FORTY-NINE AND FIFTY - 27/04/2020 - 28/04/2020

Fifty days feels somewhat like a landmark. 

It also signals the beginning of the end, for what we have come to know as ‘Phase One’. In just over a week’s time, some restrictions will be lifted in Italy for the first time. Specifically, people will be allowed to visit relatives or partners from whom they have been separated, and anyone that has been stuck in a place other than their residential address is now allowed to return home. Individual sports such as running or cycling will also be permitted, as long as a distance of two metres can be maintained, and parks will be allowed to re-open with restricted access. It all sounds promising, in theory. However, in reality, very little will change for so many of us: those, like me, who don’t have family members in this country, or who cannot return to work for the foreseeable future. While hairdressers, beauticians, bars and restaurants may be allowed to reopen from 1st June, there has been no mention whatsoever of those of us who work in the arts. It’s frankly a disgrace, not to mention disrespectful, that the latest press conference by the Prime Minister failed to provide any insight as to when the world of the arts can be expected to open its doors again - even tentatively. 

There are so many issues with this, I don’t even know where to start. That the arts have been at the bottom of the pile for a long time now is no secret: it has increasingly been a struggle to make a living as a singer in Italy for the last nine years, and I have had to juggle several other jobs simultaneously to pay the bills. Most of us work without being given a contract, we often get asked to do our jobs for free or “for the exposure” (is there anything more insulting?), and I have frequently been paid for jobs over six months after having completed them. It’s already tough enough. But the fact that the government has included museums and “places of culture” in its list of venues that can reopen in June, but not cinemas, theatres or music venues, is simply a slap in the face to the arts as a whole, and especially to those whose livelihoods depend on them. 

Aside from the fact that hundreds of thousands of us will continue to be out of a job for months on end, causing huge amounts of stress and financial pressure, my gravest concern is that if we think along those lines, the arts are no longer even considered as culture. It may be easy to say that going to the cinema, watching a play or listening to live music is not an ‘essential’ activity, but I would challenge anyone to actively choose to live in a world without them. I, for one, certainly don’t want to live in a society where shopping or having your nails done is prioritised above going to the theatre (absolutely no offence intended to retail workers or beauticians here, please don’t misunderstand me). What kind of example are we setting to children? Children who already ask “But what is your real job?” when you tell them you are a performer. And all of this in the country of Dante, Caravaggio, Verdi and Fellini, to name just a few? 

We have been neglected, forgotten and abandoned. The hashtag #esistoanchio(“I exist too”) adorns most of my friends’ Facebook profiles, who are trying (in vain) to remind the powers that be that we are here, too, and that we have the right to know the prognosis for our ailing careers. I might sound dramatic here, but too many of us will be forced to give up on our jobs and seek employment opportunities elsewhere, if this continues for much longer. I understand the need for social distancing measures, for restricting gatherings and so on, but if we are to be allowed to board a plane, walk around a museum or eat in a restaurant ‘safely’, then I see absolutely no reason why we can’t do the same in concert halls and theatres, for example. 

And I have to remember that I am one of the lucky ones: as a qualified English teacher and licensed tour guide, I have other options in the longer term, if not in the immediate. Colleagues and friends of mine who have never formally trained to do anything other than their craft are not so fortunate. It breaks my heart to hear supremely talented musicians talking about having to get a job in a call centre, or gifted actors who will have to go back to making pocket money by babysitting. Again, no disrespect to these career options at all, but I hope you see my point: years of training, honing skills, taking lessons and investing in your art, for it all to go down the drain and leave you empty-handed. 

According to Italian newspaper ‘La Repubblica’, the music industry has lost over €260 million so far, while the publishing world looks set to lose €450 million over the course of six months. This damage will be extremely hard, if not impossible, for many to recover from. The funds that the government promised freelancers (€600-800 a month) in theory applies to artists and writers, too - but the major flaw in the system is that each applicant must have officially accumulated 30 days of paid work over the previous year. This is far harder than it sounds, when many of us are paid in cash, with no hint of a contract, ultimately meaning that the bulk of our work is done ‘under the table’ and we largely live hand-to-mouth. 

To give you an example, an evening’s live music will, on average, bring in around €50 per musician. This is a ‘normal’ amount here in Rome. When you consider that musicians have to rehearse (for a fee, renting a rehearsal room), pay for their own transport to get to the venue, set up the instruments themselves (I can’t complain about this, as a singer - but safe to say I’m glad I didn't decide to play the drums!) and occasionally even pay for their own food and drink throughout the evening  - and then actually do the job they’ve been hired for and play for several hours - it’s a tough gig (pardon the pun). So to find out that we don’t even qualify for emergency aid...well, it’s salt in the wound, to say the least.

I’m angry. We’re all angry. Why have we been left behind? Why are the arts always the last on the agenda? The value in these artforms is being overlooked entirely, and I fear that we will all be the poorer for it (in every sense) in the long run.