HEartS Professional
Health, Economic, and Social Impact of COVID-19 on PROFESSIONALs in the ARTs
HEartS Professional is investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on professionals in the arts and culture sectors.
The arts play a vital role in connecting and inspiring communities. In the COVID-19 crisis, these sectors were also among the most disrupted, with performances, exhibitions, and exchanges of all kinds all but halted. The arts and cultural economies, and those who work within them, faced unprecedented challenges and uncertainty.
The HEartS Professional project is investigating these disruptions and their effects. Our multi-wave, cross-sectional, and sector-wide surveys have highlighted the ongoing challenges to arts professionals’ livelihoods and wellbeing, as well as illuminating the adaptive resilience of creative workers at times of crisis and the growing sense of social responsibility among the cultural workforce.
By investigating the health, wellbeing, and financial impact of the pandemic, HEartS Professional has been able to shed light on how to support the cultural workforce at times of crisis, providing knowledge, leadership, and new ways forward when and where they are needed most.
Project team
Aaron Williamon, RCM (PI)
Aifric Campbell, Imperial
Vali Lalioti, UAL
Marisa Miraldo, Imperial
Rosie Perkins, RCM
Sophia Ppali, UAL
Caitlin Shaughnessy, RCM
Neta Spiro, RCM
George Waddell, RCM
Supported by
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Shaughnessy C, Perkins R, Spiro N, Waddell G, and Williamon A (2024), Cultivating progressive development in the cultural industries: challenges and support needs identified by the creative workforce in the United Kingdom, Cultural Trends, 33, 487-504. DOI»
Shaughnessy C, Perkins R, Spiro N, Waddell G, Campbell A, and Williamon A (2022), The future of the cultural workforce: perspectives from early career arts professionals on the challenges and future of the cultural industries in the context of COVID-19, Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 6 (100296), 1-12. DOI»
Spiro N, Perkins R, Kaye S, Tymoszuk U, Mason-Bertrand A, Cossette I, Glasser S, and Williamon A (2021), The effects of COVID-19 Lockdown 1.0 on working patterns, income, and wellbeing among performing arts professionals in the United Kingdom (April-June 2020), Frontiers in Psychology, 11 (594086), 1-17. DOI»
Spiro N, Shaughnessy C, Perkins R, Waddell G, Campbell A, and Williamon A (2024), The HEartS professional model: a conceptual model for arts professionals’ work and wellbeing, Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 10 (101092), 1-8. DOI»
Spiro N, Shaughnessy C, Waddell G, Perkins R, Campbell A, and Williamon A (2023), Modelling arts professionals’ wellbeing and career intentions within the context of COVID-19, PLOS One, 18 (e0292722), 1-22. DOI»
Spiro N, Yang J, Shaughnessy C, Luo C, Perkins R, Waddell G, and Williamon A (2023), Work and wellbeing among arts professionals in China during COVID-19 (August 2020 and October 2021), Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 8 (100691), 1-9. DOI»