“Covid-19 has had an unprecedented impact on our economy, our culture and our way of life. Overnight, this global pandemic led to the suspension of all public activities and a collapse in the living and working environment for everybody.

"It’s now clear that the arts will be one of the last sectors to re-emerge fully from ‘lockdown’ and social distancing restrictions. This is having a worrying impact on the financial resilience of organisations and of creative freelancers. Our task, therefore, is to get to grips with the challenges that we now face and develop positive responses that protect and sustain the sector. This means working with our stakeholders, partners and those working in the arts to agree specific actions that respond with imagination, practicality and openness to the Covid-19 crisis.”