For Arthemisia president, impossible to reopen exhibitions on May 18: not convenient and no time

Impossible to reopen exhibitions since May 18. This is the outburst of Iole Siena, president of the Arthemisia Group, one of Italy’s leading companies active in the organization of exhibitions, and which, before the restrictive measures were established for the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, had five exhibitions underway: the one on Canova in Rome, the one on Escher in Trieste, the exhibition on the" secretimpressionists " in the new Palazzo Bonaparte in Rome, the one on Pinocchio at Villa Bardini in Florence, and the I love Lego exhibition also at Palazzo Bonaparte.

Siena says that “businesses operating in the cultural sector have suffered huge losses due to the forced closure of activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” The exhibitions sector is, according to Iole Siena, “one of the hardest hit for two reasons: the first is because it lives only on ticket receipts, which have been effectively blocked since mid-February; the second is that the costs of exhibitions are incurred 95 percent before opening, while the revenues are all afterwards. So what happened with the sudden closure? Businesses found themselves with all the costs of open or opening exhibitions but no revenue. And considering the not exactly low costs of the exhibitions...we’re talking about a few million euros.”

The news of the reopening for May 18, according to Iole Siena, came as a surprise, and in her view the reopening for that date is not technically sustainable for at least seven reasons. The first has to do with culture supports: “there has not yet been an answer on any support for culture businesses: with the large losses suffered, it is not possible to take further risks without knowing whether there will be support and how activities can be continued.” Then there is the problem of the seasonality of the sector and the public’s disposition: “the May-September period is notoriously the one with the lowest attendance at exhibitions. In normal times, opening an exhibition in May would amount to a certain loss (the spring exhibition season runs from February to June); right now, with contagions and fear still widespread, it would mean opening for (perhaps) very few people per day. The psychological factor should also be considered: after nearly two months of quarantine, how many people will want to go to a closed place like an exhibition space for an exhibition? And how many, with the current economic uncertainties, will be able to spend money to visit an exhibition?” The third reason is the composition of the audience: “the exhibition audience consists of 10 percent of the school audience (excluded at this stage), 40 percent of the group audience (excluded at this stage), 15 percent of the tourist audience (excluded at this stage), and 15 percent of the over-65 audience (excluded at this stage). That leaves 20 percent of the so-called single audience who, even if they wanted to go to the exhibitions, would in no way allow them to cover the expenses.”

And then again, continues Iole Siena, there are problems about the convenience of the quota: “with the necessary security measures, one person every 5 minutes will be able to enter, so a maximum of 120 people per day, with an average revenue of about 1,200 euros per day. The average daily cost of an exhibition, considering security and ticketing staff, insurance, rent, cleaning, etc., is around 6,000 euros. It would clearly be completely uneconomic.” And again, a fifth reason concerns sanitary aspects: “exhibition spaces in exhibitions typically are not ’healthy’ environments: they have no windows (nor can they be opened, for the preservation of the works), they usually have carpeting on the floor, there is no air exchange. Even imagining frequent sanitization (which, moreover, is an extra cost), should an infected person pass through the exhibition it would put all the others at risk, because even adopting the social distance of one or two meters, the air in the rooms would remain the same and the floors are not easily washable. Neither are artwork washable, which certainly cannot be disinfected. Finally, no insurer exercises coverage for coronavirus contagion risks, so the risk for those organizing would be very high.” And still on the subject of safety, “the security measures to be taken (compulsory reservations for visitors, compulsory routes inside the halls, audio guides to be redone, frequent sanctification, devices for public hygiene, facilities for the salubrious exchange of air), require time (at least 4 months of work) and further investment. One will be ready not before September, with the appropriate measures.” Finally, the seventh reason concerns loans: “domestic and international lenders will not lend until there is certainty of being able to travel, and certainly in May international travel will not be allowed.”

Consequently, Iole Siena concludes, “the May 18 opening may apply only to some public museums (assuming they can guarantee security measures so quickly) or to exhibitions supported with public funds, for which one can appeal to the public service, or to some exhibitions already opened before the crisis, which can be extended if economic sustainability is expected. No conscientious private operator will be able to operate so quickly given the above assumptions. Opening an exhibition in a few weeks would be uneconomic and risky for the health of those who work and those who visit, would increase the risk of already certain losses, and would thus worsen an already very compromised situation. First, the table of supports for cultural enterprises must be addressed, then security measures must be put in place by having time to test them, and then reopenings can be announced in a sensible and unambiguous way, putting everyone in the same condition to operate, including for market fairness. The right time to reopen, in my opinion, is October 2020 (with 5 months of preparatory work) obviously hoping that the epidemic does not restart.”

Pictured: exhibition at Palazzo Bonaparte, Rome.

For Arthemisia president, impossible to reopen exhibitions on May 18: not convenient and no time

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.