COVID-19 vs Art. Economic, Financial, and Legal Consequences of the Pandemic Based on the Case Study of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lodz

Since March 2020, cultural institutions have become a field of social, economic, and legal experiment in terms of content, management strategies, and ways to implement a new work model. The governmental regulations have put the flexibility and strength of so-far firm public sector structures, with its resources and finances, to the test. The wide scale of positive and negative consequences of the limited operations of cultural institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic shows well the complexity of managing change during uncertain times. The change has also become synonymous with moving activities to the Internet, which often is an ad hoc and last-resort measure. The scope of dilemmas and adaptations introduced in the economic and financial repertoire as well as the legal department of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lodz may constitute an interesting case study of a cultural institution operating in an existing and much disintegrated economic and financial ecosystem. The aim of the work is to analyse the situation in the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lodz divided into three dimensions: legal, financial, and accounting. Each of them have generated new problem areas. The material for the study consists of interviews with the Philharmonic’s heads of departments (interview disposition). In the interviews, both detrimental and valuable effects of the pandemic are presented, and a new approach to the problems described.

Since March 2020, cultural institutions have become a field of social, economic, and legal experiment in terms of content, management strategies, and ways to implement a new work model. The governmental regulations have put the flexibility and strength of so-far firm public sector structures, with its resources and finances, to the test. The wide scale of positive and negative consequences of the limited operations of cultural institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic shows well the complexity of managing change during uncertain times. The change has also become synonymous with moving activities to the Internet, which often is an ad hoc and last-resort measure. The scope of dilemmas and adaptations introduced in the economic and financial repertoire as well as the legal department of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lodz may constitute an interesting case study of a cultural institution operating in an existing and much disintegrated economic and financial ecosystem. The aim of the work is to analyse the situation in the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lodz divided into three dimensions: legal, financial, and accounting. Each of them have generated new problem areas. The material for the study consists of interviews with the Philharmonic’s heads of departments (interview disposition). In the interviews, both detrimental and valuable effects of the pandemic are presented, and a new approach to the problems described.