The cultural sector and the COVID-19: emergencies and the future

The measures to combat the spread of the pandemic by Covid-19, adoptedin many countries, with the domestic confinement of people, the haltingof activities and the closure of the places of associated life has put into seriouscrisis the cultural and creative sector that is characterized by the widespreadpresence of both small businesses and self-employed workers, often engagedpart-time on multiple cultural activities. The lockdown could thenlead to a serious destruction of «cultural capital». The industrialized countriesintervened to avoid this serious risk (economic and social) and this articlehighlights the differences but also the strong similarities in the measurestaken by the various countries: France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. Thesupport measures implemented in these countries were mainly addressed tothe immediate crisis needs of the sector. But crises, and this one, can representa «turning point» that could change, as it is already changing, the waywe live, communicate and work. It is therefore necessary not to separate immediateinterventions to support the cultural sector with the financing ofinnovative projects that, as is already happening in the health field, canexperiment with new forms of production and communication of culture.