Can Our Cultural Life Still Flourish During Coronavirus?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: And we talked about the heritage sites that had closed down. There’s an amazing image of the Mona Lisa, which exist in the Louvre, which is shut right now. But a Spanish artist has portrayed the Mona Lisa with a mask on her face and talking about, you know, what’s going on right now. And we’ve got Italy’s culture minister who has said, let’s work together under UNESCO guidance to transform this dramatic crisis into an instrument for a new global renaissance through culture, research and education. Do you think that is possible? And how do you envision that?

AUDREY AZOULAY, DIRECTOR GENERAL, UNESCO: We had yesterday, an online conference meeting with 140 ministers of culture, including the Italian minister of culture who mentioned this idea of cultural renaissance after the crisis. What we heard during this meeting is a huge concern, because we have this (INAUDIBLE), we have a need during the lockdowns for culture. A lot of expression of creativity, culture that unites us when we’re isolated. There’s this need which is very strong. And at the same time, there’s a huge concern for the health of the cultural sectors, who have been the first affected, because very often they rely on social presence and distancing. So, as you said, all museums are closed, more than 90 percent of museums are closed in the world, the world heritage sites, as well. The theaters, the concert halls, the bookshops, everything that makes the whole ecosystem of the cultural sector is now fragilized. And it was already fragile. So, there’s this huge concern. And also, you mustn’t — nobody must forget that culture is also a very important economic sector. Very often, it’s under evaluated. But it’s a lot of jobs. It’s 3 percent of the global GDP. It’s part of the strategy of many countries for tourism, for sustainable tourism. So, there is this concern. And so, we want to work with the member states in order to, first, assess the situation, share the best experience in terms of response and what can be the response, take into account in the cultural policy, the growing role of digital actors. And so, to take them also into account into the financing of the cultural economies. And also, support them for the recovery of the sector. It’s also a debate that we’ve launched with an artist around the world.