The global pandemic has accelerated the arts industry’s engagement with the digital world, allowing artists and companies to maintain a connection with audiences while venues are shuttered. But how on earth do you make it pay? Steve Dow investigates.

Pinchgut Opera
The late Taryn Fiebig and Chloe Lankshear, with harpist Hannah Lane and Erin Helyard, on the set of Pinchgut’s opera film A Delicate Fire, now available on Pinchgut At Home. Photo courtesy of Pinchgut Opera

Part One: Major Arts Companies Do The Pandemic Pivot

Inside Sydney’s former rail shunting yards known as Carriageworks, a camera smoothly swoops towards the warmly spotlit players of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, arrayed in a semi-circle as they strike up Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. The editing is so energetic that the lack...