Since February 2020, the Covid-19 epidemic has affected entire sectors of the world economy. The creative economy is being hit hard, not only in economic terms but also in terms of its identity and organization. Our four research notes aim: (1) to recall the history of the “relief” programmes set up in the past to aid the cultural sector, especially during the Great Depression of 1929; (2) to analyse the current situation of the cultural sectors, both as a whole and sector by sector; (3) to present the Swiss creative economy through some statistics-based reflections on the current debate in Switzerland; and finally (4), beyond the current debates: to consider alternative strategies for analysing the creative economy.
In accordance with the research principles of the ZCCE, we look at the subject of our study from various perspectives: historical, sociological, statistical or entrepreneurial. We examine the topic from a Swiss as well as an international perspective.