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Global Health Econ Sustain Resilience, income, artists, COVID-19

Group differences found in our study were that participants Furthermore, threats to artists’ financial viability and
with a postgraduate qualification and higher income had physical health resulted in increased stress and impacted
higher resilience scores. These results align with previous overall well-being (Spiro et al., 2021). The loss of income
studies that found age and education were significantly for South African artists resulted in apprehension in
associated with resilience (Ferreira et al., 2018; Ferreira doing art activities, particularly among the self-employed.
et al., 2019; Galea et al., 2020). Resilience before and during the pandemic was inversely
Creative activities have previously been identified as related to apprehension and hesitation attributed to
resilient skills involving new actions, problem-solving, financial concerns in doing art activities, particularly
imagination use, and divergent thoughts (Elisondo, 2021). among the self-employed. In other words, lower resilience
Congruently, lower resilience scores before the pandemic before the pandemic resulted in more apprehension
in our study were associated with inhibited commitment attributed to financial concerns in doing art activities
and inhibited social connection in art activities. The same during the pandemic. Conversely, higher resilience during
associations were featured during the pandemic, but to the pandemic did not result in apprehension attributed to
a stronger degree. In contrast, the relationship between financial concerns in doing art activities.
higher resilience and experiencing stimulating impacts We acknowledge that our study presents limitations.
emerged only during the pandemic, while this relationship The sample may have been of insufficient size to uncover
did not pertain to resilience before the pandemic. Higher group differences due to a type II statistical error. For
resilience during the pandemic was therefore related to example, most of the participants were female, potentially
increased productivity and stimulated commitment to art obscuring the gender differences in resilience that had
activities and inversely related to inhibiting commitment been reported previously (Notario-Pacheco et al., 2011;
and hindering or inhibiting social connection. Our study Shin et al., 2018; Cheng & Lam, 2021; Kavčič et al., 2021).
suggests that South African artists who are more resilient to Moreover, the majority of participants were from the
threat tend to be more internally self-motivated to continue performing arts field and may not be representative of
with artistic activities while coping with disruption to their visual artists. The results are further limited to artists with
professional lives, as observed during the pandemic. tertiary and postgraduate qualifications and only to those
Although not statistically related to resilience in our who were recruitable through social media platforms and
results, most participants reported that they had ventured inclined to participate in an online study. Furthermore,
into new modalities or ways of doing their art activities due the study did not stipulate whether artists were engaged
to the pandemic, despite feeling that their role as artists in their art full-time or part-time, given the fact that many
had been compromised. They also reported engaging in artists have portfolio careers to sustain a living. Therefore,
more research and reading in conceptualizing or planning future research can address these limitations by sampling
art activities, doing art activities together with other data that would be suitably representative.
activities, and using virtual media more than before the 5. Conclusion
pandemic. These findings support a recent study in which
arts professionals in the UK reported that the lockdown Overall, our results provide empirical evidence of the severe
afforded opportunities for new possibilities and activities, impact of the pandemic on resilience and art activities in
as well as new skills (Spiro et al., 2021). In observing South African artists. We contend that more studies of
musicians’ responses to COVID-19, Cai et al. (2021) this nature are needed to advocate for policy support for
highlighted the disruption of routine, livelihoods, and this vulnerable sector. Our findings may be informative
creative practices of musicians as a result of the pandemic to artists in facilitating their social connections with peers
and suggested the value of infrastructure and creative and society, the experience of solidarity, and may provide
spaces that support collaboration, inducing a mindset material for encouragement and personal reflection – all of
to support creative practices, and maintaining social which may be considered crucial in artists’ development,
connections. art production, and growth.
Unsurprisingly, income significantly decreased More research is needed to examine the resilience of
across all domains during the pandemic in our study. artists in the cultural sector, particularly in the aftermath
Consistent with research across the globe, for example, of severely disruptive events such as lockdown periods
Crosby & McKenzie (2022) found a significant decline in during a pandemic, to understand how artists find ways
income among Australian musicians, whereas Spiro et al. to adapt and cope given economic uncertainty, lack of
(2021) and Cohen and Ginsborg (2021) report similar growth, decreased income, unemployment, and the impact
effects among performing arts professionals in the UK. on their health and wellbeing.

Volume 1 Issue 1 (2023) 9 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.0911