The Image of the Artist in the Media Space. The Relationship Between Media and Art During COVID-19

Abstract

In line with the trends in communication in social networks, cultural institutes, and organizations follow the basic rules of digital PR and break them through the specifics of the products offered. In its future activity, the theater faces several challenges to increase its competitiveness. In addition to the high artistic value of the texts, the excellent acting and directing team, and the innovation and attractiveness of the performances, the theater should expand its channels of communication with the audience in social networks, develop more flexible campaigns with unconventional and provocative events, create a recognizable brand and facilitate audience access to its product, for example through online ticketing, interactive floor plan, etc. (Nedekov, 2014). Dangerous pandemics are an age-old enemy of the theater, and their appearance always means suspension of performances and bankruptcy for troupes, as it happened, for example, in London at the end of the 16th century, when William Shakespeare's star was rising. Today, however, the development of new technologies and media allows the theater to discover for itself an airless, and in this sense, safe space, which it can temporarily use as a refuge - the virtual. There, the screen can become a stage, but this has both positive and negative aspects for theatrical performance and these must be taken into account. The epidemic affects everyone and many economic sectors are in dire straits, but the cultural sector is among the hardest hit. The COVID-19 pandemic is defining the way of life and delineating the economic chasm that has opened up for small and large businesses and industries. Since the beginning of the crisis, culture has been one of the most affected sectors. The arts and culture sector has always been unstable, unsustainable, and volatile, but the COVID-19 pandemic has frozen the sector (2020), with many organizations facing bankruptcy and many people at risk of losing their income.