Innovation in the creative industries will help us out of the pandemic
In a recent report from the Boundless Creativity project, Professorial Fellow Andrew Thompson describes the importance of the cultural sector – theatre, music, the arts, museums, and heritage – to the UK’s recovery post-pandemic.
The project found a marked increase in digital cultural consumption during the lockdown, and that, post-pandemic, two-thirds of Britons think it is possible to have a meaningful cultural experience online. Hybrid performances and other digital elements will be important as we come out of the pandemic, as Andrew points out in a recent blog post for the University:
“Many of those to whom we spoke expect virtual reality and reality itself to evolve alongside each other, with performance to live audiences integrated with streaming to global ones. This hybrid future is likely to be a distinctive marker of the UK’s remarkably adaptable cultural sector.”
Most importantly, however, Andrew calls for more public research resources to make the most of the innovative potential of the cultural sector.
Andrew Thompson is the co-chair of the Boundless Creativity project with Lord Neil Mendoza, Provost of Oriel College. More information about the project can be found on the website of the Arts and Humanities Research Council.