Before the pandemic, it did not occur to many arts and cultural institutions that they could - or even had to - generate revenue online. This has rapidly changed. What can organizations learn from the experiences of the last months?

In times of the pandemic, many arts and cultural institutions and professionals may find it difficult to think of others first. This issue of Arts Management Quarterly shows that it can be extraordinarily rewarding for them to commit themselves to serving local communities, now and in the long term.

Artistic places that distinguished themselves by their independence now do not only face precarity, but permanent closure. Nonetheless, independent places are essential for the artistic world and for developing new artistic expressions. Therefore, it is of highest interest to understand how these places are doing, in the face of the pandemic.

Networks and open platforms for decision-making and discussion are highly important to build a (digital) community, especially in times of COVID-19. I became all the more aware of this because of the opportunity to volunteer as a co-organizer for the online Arts & Cultural Management Conference 2021 (ACMC) on the fitting topic "REvisiting Borders”.

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt society, harnessing learning and creative problem-solving are integral to the survival of the cultural and creative sector. The 2021 gathering entitled ‘Cultural managers, their organisations, and their networks in times of crisis’ reflected the resilience of the sector to re-imagine ways of working and reaching current and post-pandemic audiences.

The cultural sector has so far been rather on the margins of the debates on CO2 emissions. But the reason is not that it does not contribute - because it does. And quite a few initiatives and projects worldwide are already successfully dedicated to climate-conscious and resource-saving arts and cultural management.

In the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, artists and cultural organizations globally have been reinventing ways to present their offering on audience’s screens. But the streaming platform Twitch has so far been largely left out of the discussion among art professionals, even though it offers numerous potentials also for generating revenue for cultural offerings.

When developing digital formats, it can be difficult for galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) to involve potential users and new groups instead of spinning in their own circles. In order to be successful, hackathons such as Retas Budaya ("Hack Your Culture”) are a great way to integrate new perspectives.

Coloniality - or colonial thinking - is still prevalent in most parts of the world and most aspects of life, even in arts and culture. Professionals in the sector may not think of themselves as biased, but postcolonial studies proof them wrong. This issue of Arts Management Quarterly presents first approaches to decolonize arts and cultural management.

In recent months, most European countries have highlighted the value of art and culture and taken measures to reduce the impact of the pandemic on the sector, albeit to very different degrees.

On 11 November, Dr. Rocío Nogales Muriel was announced as the winner of the 7th ENCATC Research Award on Cultural Policy and Cultural Management for her PhD on "Social transformation and social innovation in the field of culture: The case of the SMart model and its adaptation across Europe" obtained from the Center for the Study of Culture, Politics and Society (CECUPS) at the University of Barcelona in Spain.

During the corona virus pandemic, the structures of the cultural sector we used to believe in seem to have fallen apart. So maybe it is time to take a deeper look at the more adaptable and flexible cultural management concepts from the Global South where institutions are more permeable to how they can serve their audiences, be flexible in terms of structures and accept that what really matters is always on the go.

Many arts and cultural institutions are open again. But the visitors are still absent and also the employees are not necessarily comfortable. During our Arts Management Webinar on October 14th at 2 pm CEST Leah Hamilton will explain how to give them back the feeling of safety.

In recent months, some courageous arts and cultural institutions have proofed that visitors are quite willing to spend money on digital culture. In this issue, these examples shed light on how the cultural sector can develop not only exciting formats, but also an inventive mindset.

Arts institutions across the globe have begun their re-opening process and it is apparent that just because officials announce it is safe to re-open, visitors and staff might not feel safe participating. How can we change that feeling?

For artist entrepreneurs, successful time management is successful self-management. And successful self-management requires planning and organization and discipline—the ability to respond and commit to your needs and wants first and foremost.

The pandemic changes many aspects of the publicly funded cultural infrastructures of Western countries, that much is certain. However, for the changes to move in a positive direction, cultural professionals and politicians have to confront themselves with uncomfortable questions.

Every arts and cultural manager is influenced by internationalization and globalization, regardless of where they are based, or what their specific jobs look like. This also means that they should pay attention to the circumstances that fundamentally influence international work in the cultural sector. This book is a perfect introduction.

One of the most distinctive outcomes of the crisis for the cultural sector is that it shrunk the global to fit our computer screens and made local events resound globally. The digital or immaterial became tangible, substituting for what we previously enjoyed as physical and proximate.

We are living in the collision of two pandemics. The coronavirus crisis collided with the ancient, global and persistent pandemic of racism. In recent weeks, amid the COVID-19 crisis in several countries, thousands of people have taken the streets to reaffirm that #BlackLivesMatter. Now the demonstrations advance inside arts institutions, which will be forced to reflect on which side they are from when it comes to racial equity (and more).