Internetske izvedbene umjetnosti u doba pandemije: nužno zlo ili nova kulturna praksa?

Abstract

The current crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus and the consequent measures of restricting gatherings, long-term postponement of public performances and the closure of cultural institutions strongly influenced the performing arts sector. Concerts, theatre and dance imply the gathering of a large number of people and the possibility of collective enjoyment in works of art. The restrictions that still exist have therefore led to major economic losses, job losses and endangerment of existence of independent artists. At the same time, digital media made it possible to offer different cultural content online and various unconventional ways of dance and theatre performances, virtual concerts and special musical events emerged. The online cultural offer was initially free and over time some charg-ing models were introduced. The aim of this paper was to map different practices of virtual distribution of performing arts in Croatia that emerged in response to the crisis caused by COVID-19 and to explore users’ attitudes about online presentation of performing arts and their willingness to pay for such content. The conducted research showed that Croatian cultural institutions and independent artists quickly responded to the pandemic crisis by providing a variety of online content. Ac-cording to the survey, more than a half of students consumed some of these content during the pandemic period, but the vast majority consider online performances to be a poor substitute for live performances and do not express intent to follow such content after the pandemic.