The pandemic is causing a cultural depression in Brazil

The arts are social goods that, according to Aristotle, serve to give people catharsis. And catharsis is sorely needed amid the pandemic — coupled, in Brazil’s case, with the deepest recession on record. But art, music, dance, and theater are also individual professions — ones that are endangered as the pandemic rages on (even if the now-prevalent Omicron variant is by all accounts milder than previous versions of the coronavirus).

“I want to receive invitations to play gigs again, even if only to turn them down due to the pandemic,” singer Karina Buhr shared on Twitter. “But I haven’t received a single one since 2020. Have I failed, is it all over?” Her candid outpouring of frustration spurred a slew of responses from other artists sharing similar anxieties that their days as performers may be numbered.

Ms. Buhr’s case is far from an isolated one and reflects a state of cultural depression that has rarely been seen since the return of democracy liberated the sector from state censorship. 

Culture is also an industry accounting for up to 2.6...