Stuck in the Middle… NOT working at home.

By Geoff Sirmai.

As a freelance arts publicist, I’ve happily been working from home for 20 years. Being the ‘matchmaker’ – the middle–man between performing artists and the media – gives me the joy of sharing great stories about singers, actors, comedians, dancers, musicians… you name it.

With a special niche in the ‘indie’ scene (as opposed to the pricier big commercial end), I’d always thought my sector was recession-proof. And I’d hoped not to jinx it.

Well, like everyone else… I didn’t see this coming! Not a downturn but a violent plunge. Now I’m at home NOT working. And it’s weird.

On one side, my clients’ shows, gigs and festivals shut down almost overnight. Some worked on briefly, optimistically, within the early restrictions that would have allowed performances in small theatres. But it soon became obvious that tougher measures were coming… and no-one was buying tickets anyway.

One by one, each company, venue or group announced postponements, cancellations… even total closures. Many will not survive. And for each individual artist, used to working in a ‘gig economy’, it’s meant complete loss of all income for the foreseeable future.

Likewise on my other side, the arts media have shrunk; with no upcoming live shows to preview or review, pages have disappeared, staff laid-off.

In this environment, it’s been galling to see mainstream media continue to ‘cover’ sport, as if there were any being played. There are far more interesting stories in the arts: streamed solo shows; cleverly produced ensemble videos, free online libraries of brilliant arts and artistry being opened up to cheer and entertain isolated punters.

I’m in the middle, with nothing to promote… and nowhere to promote it!

I’m lucky… I figure I can tough it out on savings, credit, ‘special consideration’,  etc, though none of us really know how long this will last – or how long it will take for the Arts to recover. I might even qualify for government support, if can ever get through.

But the feeling of grief all around me is palpable. And with it a real anger about the disrespect shown to our industry that is always the first to offer help when others are in trouble and which is filling Australia’s screens and earphones with soul-saving entertainment in this challenging time. Forgotten by government, taken for granted by many…  I hope we are all still there when all this darkness ends and there’s a huge audience hungry for live entertainment ‘on the other side’.

Geoff Sirmai is the director of Sirmai Arts Marketing, a one-stop arts publicity company based in Sydney. www.sirmai.com.au