O drama dos artistas na pandemia brasileira

Rafael da Silva Malhão, Arlei Sander Damo

This paper aims to present the dramas experienced by Brazilian artists during the COVID-19 pandemic. This investigation is nested in one of the axes of broader research on the social impacts of the pandemic in Brazil. Initially, we argue that a pandemic is a critical event with multiple scales, which affects populations unevenly, as is the case of art world professionals, an unorthodox field in terms of specialties and remuneration, which was already suffering from the impacts of reduced investments in public policies in the cultural sector since the mid-2010s. Given the measures to face the pandemic, among which are restrictions on gatherings, artistic events were prohibited, and professionals could not act conventionally, generating economic problems and psychological distress. This paper explores the dramatic report of some of these professionals, highlighting the strategies adopted to cope with the crisis due to the impossibility of performing, the scarcity of public policies for the sector, and the national political and economic elite disdain for the arts and culture. In-depth interviews were conducted with scenic artists, musicians, and DJs from August to December 2020.