Counting the Cost of COVID-19: Understanding the Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Ottawa-Gatineau Artists & Cultural WorkersIn this session Nik Ives-Allison (City of Ottawa) and Marisa Gallemit (Ottawa Arts Council)  present key findings from Counting the Cost of COVID-19 in November 2020. This joint project of the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Arts Council looks at the economic costs of the pandemic faced by those working in the arts, culture & heritage and the businesses, non-profit organizations and institutions that support them. In this presentation, we focus on the impact of the pandemic on artists & cultural workers including solopreneurs and freelancers. While the income & job losses experienced in the sector have been staggering, there have also been some glimmers of hope with the launch of new businesses, supports and ways of working. This session is co-presented by Arts Network Ottawa and Ottawa Arts Council

What does it mean to be an “artist”, “dancer”, “musician”, “writer”, etc…? The arts industry offers many career options for the emerging professional, but there are no set paths, especially in this time of pandemic. How do we build a career that will sustain us, artistically and financially? How has COVID-19 affected this delicate balance? Jenna Richards leads a panel discussion with Jacqui Du Toit, Sarah Hopkin, and Claudia Gutierrez about arts entrepreneurship, identity, and portfolio careers.

Born an Ottawa native, City Fidelia is a soulful street poet, rapper, singer and songwriter. He launched Real House of Ensemble, a creative agency and arts resource hub, during the pandemic in July 2020 filling a resource gap for local creatives – with big goals for the future.  This episode provides an overview about how businesses can continue to dedicate resources towards economic growth and innovations within the hip hop community, which deserves more recognition for sustainable contributions to the music industry and arts sector, locally and beyond.  Entrepreneurship, multimedia, music, fashion, and self-sufficiency are addressed by an artist with experience living and working in Ottawa and Toronto, and touring world-wide. 

Today we are witnessing the limitations of an entrepreneurial state driven by the neoliberal logics. The three crises that we are enduring—public health, social and economic—have shone a light on the paradox of labour and embedded reality of artists. In testing times such as these and to envisage a path forward we need to understand where we are now and how did we get to the present crisis? How did the systemic evolution of the cultural labour market premised on the introduction of competition saw the subsequent transformation of artists into cultural entrepreneurs?This keynote address from Artpreneur 2020 highlights the political economy of the labour of artists and explore the options as to whether we go for a reset or reinvent a new way forward.Presented by Arts Network Ottawa in partnership with Wallack's, Invest Ottawa and Shifter Agency