Socially distanced artistic careers: Professional social interactions in early, established, and late career stages during COVID-19

Abstract

The impact of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts sector resulted in acute, drastic drops in employment, revenue, and events. Career maintenance and persistence in the arts during this period involved substantially altered practices, particularly in terms of professional social interactions, which are known to be essential in artistic occupations. This research uses interview data from 66 U.S.-based arts graduates during the first year of the pandemic to establish how those in early, established, and late career stages experienced their professional social interactions. The findings show that the massive shift from in-person to almost solely online work and connectivity led to a drastic decrease in professional social interactions. Findings show that early career artists have the least social capital, established artists have the most, and late career artists begin to lose social capital unless they actively maintain it. Additionally, the “event-ized” nature of scheduling and attending work interactions digitally reduced feelings of community and collegiality.